A Story a Day Keeps the Arrancar Away!
by KittiKat626
Summary: [IchiRuki] Version II! This is a followup to A Story a Day Keeps the Hollows Away! As the name might suggest, I will be adding a story each and every day. Long, short, funny, romance . . . it all goes. FINISHED!
1. Introduction

**Authors Note: READ!! —— **All stories are only one-shots and are NOT part of a series unless indicated below in the description, or indicated in the names. **IE:** Daddy Pt. VIII, Daddy Pt. VII, Etc. No stories will be multi-part unless indtcated in one or both of the mentioned places.

**Thanks!**

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A Story a Day Keeps the Arrancar Away: November - December

Here is where I will explain this insanity:

Each day, **November 17th - December 17th**, I am going to be writing a **drabble,** **One-shot** or a **multi-part** story to post in my collection. Instead of having thirty different stories cluttering up my profile, I will post them here. There will be humor, romance, fluff . . . and just _plain weird. _I decided to do this because I was getting tired of the lack of stories here. I will be editing this Introduction every single day to put out the **date, name, rating** and **description** of the newest story. That way, each person can find something they like without having to surf through every single story on here, having only the names to rely on.

Here goes. Also, when doing romance, it will probably **mostly** be Rukia/Ichigo.

Rating content is now placed beside the rating. The rating guide will be as follows:

**L:** Language  
**V: **Violence  
**D: **Death  
**SC: **Sexual Content  
**SR: **Sexual Reference

One more thing:

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Date: **November 17th

**Name: **Midnight Cookies  
**Description: **I think I've fallen . . . and Ichigo helped me up.  
**Rating: **G _(None)_

**Date: **November 18th

**Name: **Doctors Suck  
**Description:** Rukia goes to the doctor.  
**Rating: **PG _(Nothing much - Just wouldn't want a five-year-old reading)_

**Date: **November 19th

**Name: **Only In Writing  
**Description: **He won't ever let her see it . . . because his love for her was only in writing.  
**Rating: **PG _(The word 'Preverted')_

**Date:** November 20th

**Name:** Daddy Pt: VII — Grandfather  
**Description:** Pt. VII in the Daddy Series. Ichigo and Rukia have an appointment with a feritility specialist . . . so where do Masaki and Kaien stay?  
**Rating:** PG _(L)_

**Date:** November 21st

**Name:** Winter Wear  
**Description:** If she asked that question _one_ more time . . .  
**Rating:** PG _(V)_

**Date:** November 22th

**Name:** I'll be With You Tonight  
**Description:** I'll follow you . . . someday . . . please, wait for me . . .  
**Rating:** PG-13 _(L,V,D)_

**Date: **November 23rd

**Name: **Thanksgiving  
**Description: **Rukia learns the customs of Thanksgiving.  
**Rating: **PG _(L)_

**Date:** November 24th

**Name: **Smile For Me  
**Description:** "How come you never smile?" The answer and the question were simple. But the meaning was strong. "Because I don't have a reason to smile." . . . . Let me be your reason. Smile, please, smile for me.  
**Rating:** PG-13 _(L,V,D)_

**Date: **November 25th

**Name: **Teeny Tiny  
**Desctiption: **Rukia has small feet. So . . . Ichigo keeps getting her socks mixed up with their little daughters.  
**Rating: **PG _(L)_

**Date: **November 26th

**Name: **Her Hand In Mine  
**Description: **After a fight, Ichigo tells his reasons for fighting.  
**Rating: **PG _(V,L)_

**Date: **November 27th

**Name: **Daddy Pt. VIII — School  
**Description: **Pt. VIII in the Daddy Series. Kaien and Masaki have to go back to public school. Impossible Math, transfer students, gym and bullies await them! But then again, so do friends.  
**Rating: **PG _(SR)_

**Date: **November 28th

**Name: **Kiss it Better  
**Description: **Rukia hurts her finger . . . so . . . who does she ask to kiss it better?  
**Rating: **PG-13 _(L)_

**Date: **November 29th

**Name: **Valentine's Day  
**Description: **Part I in a II part Series. "Don't give anyone a gift unless you like . . . really like them, OK?" . . . Ichigo had told her that . . . so what in the _world_ was she doing giving him a present?  
**Rating: **PG _(L)_

**Date:** November 30th

**Name:** If Tomorrow Never Comes  
**Description:** If tomorrow never comes . . . will I have regrets? (Ichigo POV)  
**Rating:** PG-13 _(L,V,SR)_

**Date:** December 1st

**Name:** White Day  
**Description:** Part II in a II part Series. Ichigo forgot Rukia's gift at home before they left for school. Soo . . . he improvises.  
**Rating:** PG_ (SC - And by this . . . I mean KISSING!)_

**Date: **December 2nd

**Name: **Because You Cried  
**Description: **Now that you're back, I'll hold you. I'll never let you go . . . and, because you cried, I realize what I was blind to. I love you.  
**Rating: **PG _(Just not kid material)_

**Date: **December 3rd

**Name: **I'm Here  
**Description: **And because I'm here. . . she sleeps peacefully.  
**Rating: **G

**Date: **December 4th

**Name: **Three Words  
**Description: **Pt. I of II Pts. - **Pt. II** — **Just To Say I Love Ya _(Coming Soon!) _**Come back . . . come _home_, and tell her, Ichigo, tell her you love her . . .  
**Rating: **PG _(Mentions of naked babies and kissing!)_

**Date: **December 5th

**Name: **Just to Say I Love Ya  
**Description: **Pt II; Pt. 1 - **Three Words**. I came back for you. I came back to tell you what I was so thickheaded about before. I came back just to say I love ya.  
**Rating: **PG-13 _(L)_

**Date: **December 6th

**Name: **Daddy Pt. IX — Babies  
**Description: **Pt. IX in the Daddy Series. "Daddy . . . where do babies come from?" . . . . Oh, boy.  
**Rating: **PG _(L, Talk of where babies come from)_

**Date: **December 7th

**Name: **'Cause I Love Ya  
**Description: **"Why did you have to bleed . . . for me?" . . . . "'Cause . . . I love ya . . . "  
**Rating: **PG-13 _(V,L)_

**Date: **December 8th

**Name: **Daddy Pt. X — Birthdays  
**Description: **Pt. X in the Daddy Series. Birthdays, cakes, wished and lots and lots of children. Exactly _how_ in the world are the sane adults going to live through this?  
**Rating: **PG _(L)_

**Date: **December 9th

**Name: **For Her  
**Description: **Traditions are hard to forget . . . but he could try to make new ones. For her.  
**Rating: **PG _(Mentions Of Death)_

**Date: **December 10th

**Name: **Fall Again  
**Description: **Rukia learns to ride a bike as the capable hands of Ichigo watch to make sure she doesn't fall.  
**Rating: **PG _(L)_

**Date: **December 11th

**Name:  
Description: Continuation to Strawberries - It is in my other collection! Read it before you read this! _(Link in story)_** Rukia's bunny, Strawberry, is missing. So . . . how does she haul a certain orange-haired Shinigami into the search? Well, you'll just have to read.  
**Rating: **PG_ (L)_

**Date: **December 12th

**Name: **Truth or Dare  
**Description: **Rukia and truth or dare. What could _possibly_ go wrong?  
**Rating: **PG _(SC)_

**Date: **December 13th

**Name: **Alphabet Soup  
**Description: **A message can come in a million different ways.  
**Rating: **PG-13 _(SC,L)_

**Date: **December 14th

**Name: **Daddy Pt. XI — A Child's Wish  
**Description: **Pt. XI in the Daddy Series. Kaien wishes that his little sister would spend more time with him, but he soon realized that he needs to give her space and let her have her own friends.  
**Rating: **PG _(V)_

**Date: **December 15th

**Name: **Forever In His Arms  
**Description: **And I knew, that if I needed a shoulder to cry on again, he would hold me forever in his arms.  
**Rating: **PG _( Just not for the kiddies )_

**Date: **December 16th

**Name: **Sneaking Arrangements  
**Description: **Sleeping arrangements or sneaking arrangements? What is Byakuya doing here, what has Kon done to Ichigo's body ... and why the hell was Kon taped to the ceiling?  
**Rating: **PG-13 _(Sexual Mentions,L,V)_

**Date: **December 17th

**Name: **An Unknown Goodbye  
**Description: **I said goodbye in my own way. A silent goodbye ... and an unknown goodbye.  
**Rating: **PG _(For children 7+)_

**THE END**


	2. Nov 17 — Midnight Cookies

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters!

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**Midnight Cookies**

Rukia sighed, putting the book she was reading down on her light green blanket as the thunder cracked outside and lightning flashed across the sky. The small room that she shared with Yuzu and Karin was lit up for a moment, then went completely dark except for the small night-light Rukia was using to read. Turning her gaze from the storm outside, she focused on the other two sleeping girls in the room.

Karin was tossing and turning in her top bunk bed, which her father had gotten several months ago when he realized there was no way in hell that they were going to fit three beds into the one room, and Yuzu was whimpering slightly. Smiling softly, Rukia pulled herself out from under her soft quilt and walked over to Yuzu's bed, sitting down on the edge of it and putting her small hand on the girl's shoulder. Yuzu's eyes snapped open and she gasped before she recognized Rukia.

"Rukia-c-chan?" she asked quietly. Rukia nodded, sitting down on the bed beside Yuzu as the little girl moved over to make room.

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Yuzu nodded, her dusty hair shaking at the action. She said slowly, "It was about... Ichi-nii. He was fighting something at our mother's grave. I dream about it often," she said, her eyes meeting Rukia's.

"Well, Ichigo's fine. He's sleeping in the very next room. There's no need to worry, OK?"

Yuzu nodded and then laid back down on the bed, letting Rukia tuck her in. She said,

"Rukia-chan... I can't sleep in thunderstorms. Can I stay up with you?"

Rukia nodded. Then, a smile came to her face and she said, "Why don't we make cookies?"

Yuzu's eyes lit up and she nodded happily, getting out of bed and standing to her feet. She was in her pink kitty pajamas, and she didn't bother changing out of them as she walked quietly with Rukia, who was wearing a two-piece, blue set of pajamas with bunnies and footies, to the door. A voice stopped them as they were about to walk out of the room.

"Wait!"

They both turned around to see Karin, wide awake and sitting up.

"I want to come, too."

Rukia smiled and nodded, motioning for her to come forward. It wasn't often that Karin let her emotional side show through, but it was apparent that she didn't want to be alone in the dark room.

The three girls walked quietly down the stairs, past Ichigo's room in which they could hear him turning in his sleep, and into the kitchen. When Yuzu flipped the light on, Rukia plinked several times in order to get her eyes used to the sudden light. She then turned to Yuzu, a large grin spreading over her face. She said,

"Now, where are the cookie recipes?"

Yuzu was bouncing happily as she ran over to the cupboard and pulled out a recipe book. She set it down on the table, and as all three girls shifted through it, even Karin's eyes were glowing.

"So, which ones should we make?" Rukia asked after each girl had chosen their favorite kind and set the different recipes out.

As she spoke, thunder roared outside and Yuzu jumped, grabbing onto Rukia's shirt sleeve. Karin rolled her eyes at Yuzu's reaction but even she looked a little shaken.

"Here, Yuzu, let's make the ones you choose. Are you OK with that, Karin?" Rukia asked, looking over at the raven haired girl over Yuzu's head.

Karin could tell that Rukia wanted to do that to make Yuzu feel better, so she nodded her head and they set to cooking. Yuzu also put on some music to distract herself from the thunderstorm outside. Soon, flour was everywhere, chocolate chips were being eaten randomly from the small bowl that Yuzu had put aside, and the kitchen was filled with laughter as Karin and Rukia had a contest to see who could get more chocolate chips out from under Yuzu's watchful eye.

Karin won, having done it before, _lots_ before while Yuzu was cooking. She had gotten a total of thirteen chips while Rukia had gotten ten.

"I win!" Karin said, happily smirking at Rukia, who playfully stick her tongue out at the tom-boy twin.

Yuzu glared half-heartidly at them both and dumped the chocolate chips into the mixing bowl and finished the dough. Next, they set to making small, ball shaped pieces and setting them on the cookie sheet. Once they were in the oven, Rukia sat down on the floor beside the stove and Yuzu sat next to her, gripping her hand as the thunder rolled outside. Rukia smiled and put her arm around Yuzu, who cuddled to her side. Karin sat down, too, but across from Rukia and Yuzu.

"Thanks, Rukia-chan," Yuzu said.

"For what?"

"For staying up with us," Yuzu said sleepily, laying her head on Rukia's shoulder. She smiled.

"You're welcome. I had fun."

They were silent for a while, the only sounds in the house being the clicking of the cookie timer and the music that Yuzu had put on. Then, a catchy song started playing and Rukia stood to her feet, pulling Yuzu up with her.

"Yuzu, do you have any socks like Ichigo's?" she said, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Like Ichigo's? No, why?"

"Because when you wear them you can slide across the kitchen floor really easily. It's fun. Come on, let's go steal some of his socks."

Karin grinned and Yuzu smiled as Rukia led them up to Ichigo's room and silently opened the door, quietly stepping inside.

Ichigo's room was a mess. Clothes were thrown across the floor and his school books were cluttering up his desk. Rukia stuck her tongue out at the mess, and, stepping over a sleeping Kon, walked to Ichigo's dresser and opened the top drawer, pulling out three pairs of socks.

As she was about to close the drawer, Karin, who was standing beside her, found the photo that Ichigo always kept in his dresser. It was of him and Rukia, standing side-by-side on the beach, both in their swimming clothes. Rukia was soaked and Ichigo was holding a towel over her shoulders. And since he had no shirt on, you could clearly see the scars on his chest.

Karin looked at it for a second more before putting it back and following Rukia out of the room, not even noticing the twitching stuffed lion on the floor that was muttering 'Nee-san' under his breath.

Once they were out of the room, Rukia handed Yuzu and Karin each a pair of socks, then pulled a very large, loose pair on over her pajama feet before quickly walking back into the kitchen where she proceeded to slid across the floor, almost hitting the wall but managing to stop herself.

Yuzu and Karin began slipping across the floor, and if anyone had walked in, they would have thought it was an ice skating rink. They slipped past each other, into each other, and all across the room. By the time the cookie timer went off and sent them all sprawling into a pile on the floor, they were giggling so hard they could barely breathe.

Rukia quickly took the cookies out and put the new batch in, setting Karin and Yuzu down at the table with the fresh plate of cookies and glasses of milk.

Once the cookies were in, Rukia joined them. Finally, Karin asked,

"Rukia-chan, where was that picture in Ichi-nii's dresser taken?"

Rukia looked up from her cookie and said, smiling, "It was taken at the beach on our class trip... three months back. He had just thrown me into the water and I guess he felt bad because he gave me his towel. Ishida took that picture and gave it to Ichigo because he said he felt back about keeping it."

Karin nodded and didn't speak again, but Yuzu asked happily, "Do you love Ichi-nii?"

Rukia chocked on her cookie and a smirking Karin patted her on the back until she could breathe again. Once she had her breathing under control again, she said,

"Love him? Love is a very strong word, Yuzu."

Yuzu seemed the think for a minute, then said, "Do you _like_ him as more than a friend, then?"

Rukia seemed deep in thought for a minute then said, "Yuzu... I think I've fallen. And Ichigo helped me up."

Leaving the two girls confused, Rukia left to check on the cookies, which were done.

Just as she was about to walk back into the dining room, she saw Ichigo leaning up against the doorway, wearing a white T-shirt and blue striped pants. He was smirking slightly, his arms crossed over his chest. Rukia froze.

"How long have you been there?"

Ichigo just shrugged and watched Rukia take the cookies from the cookie sheet and laid them on the counter. He walked over and smiled gently, his scowl still in place, and said,

"Long enough."

"Long enough what?" she asked, taking her oven mitts off and setting them beside the cookie dough bowl as she set to making new dough balls.

"Long enough to to know you must have gotten into my room to let Karin see that picture."

Rukia froze for a second then said, hesitantly, "And?"

Ichigo shrugged, walking over to her and looking over her shoulder. He said,

"Can I have a cookie?"

She hit him on the head with the wooden mixing spoon.

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I just had to end it like that. _(Evil smile) _So, what did you think? Please leave reviews and drop back in tomorrow!

**_Please Review!_**


	3. Nov 18 — Doctors Suck

WOW! I had a lot of reviews! Thanks everyone!

Also, just to let people know, none of these follow each other unless they say so. _(IE: Pt. 1 / Pt. 2 / Ect.)_

**ANYWAY, I haven't been to the doctor in six years, so if this sucks, SORRY!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Doctors Suck

Rukia had decided that the doctors on Earth sucked.

She decided it the second she stepped into the waiting room with Ichigo at her side. She hid behind him when she saw all the sick, coughing and/or hurt people. He rolled his eyes and walked up to the front desk, saying that Rukia had an appointment. The nurse handed him a clipboard and he walked over and sat down on a chair, taking the pen in his hand and filling out when he knew. He then asked Rukia, who was sitting beside him, what he didn't know.

"Are you, have you ever been or are you currently trying to get pregnant?"

Rukia turned sharply to glare at him and said, "No."

"Fine. What year were you born . . . never mind. Scratch that one. We'll say you're Eighteen, like me.

Rukia looked away until his voice interrupted her again.

"Rukia, where do I say you live? I can't exactly put 'Ichigo's closet' on the information sheet," Ichigo asked, putting his pen to his lip as he stared at his sloppy writing.

"Just put your address," Rukia said, going back to looking around the waiting room. Ichigo began to protest, then, seeing that she wasn't listening to him, just groaned and put it down.

"What's your middle name?"

"Huh?"

"Middle. Name. Should I go slower?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia jabbed him sharply in the stomach. "I don't have a middle name. I was too little to know it before I died, and I never got the chance to ask Hisana," she said, turning around in the chair to face him.

"I'll put Hisana, then," Ichigo said.

Rukia was going to protest, but then nodded; she liked it.

Ichigo continued filling out the sheet, muttering under his breath as he did so. He finally said,

"Rukia, you don't, by any chance, have Social Security do you?"

All he got in the way of an answer was "Huh?"

He mumbled something under his breath and sighed before not writing anything down.

"OK. Done. Let me go turn this in."

Rukia nodded and continued looking around the room as he stood to his feet and walked up to the front desk.

The office actually was rather pretty; the walls were an off-white and the carpet was a light, sky blue. The only windows were the doors, but the beautiful pictures of pretty places in winter, spring and autumn gave the office color. In the middle of the room was a two-sided row of chairs, most full. In the far corner beside the door that, as Ichigo had explained, led back to the other offices where the doctors saw the paitents, was a play station where several sick kids were playing. Where she was sitting was just a row of three chairs in between the doors for the woman's bathroom and the men's.

"They said they'll call you in in about ten minutes," Ichigo said, snapping her out of her thoughts as he sat back down beside her.

"Why can't you dad see me?" Rukia asked, sniffling as her nose began running again.

"Because he somehow wormed his way into going away with Yuzu and Karin on their camping trip," Ichigo said. "He won't be home for a week and you had a fever of 103.2 this morning."

Rukia sighed and sat back, leaning her head on the closest thing to her; Ichigo's arm. She really didn't feel that good; her throat hurt, her nose was runny and she was aching all over. And now she was hot.

Finally, about twenty minutes later rather than ten, a doctor pocked his head out of the door and said, "Rukia Kuchiki?"

Rukia stood to her feet and Ichigo followed. But as she was about to walk in, Ichigo was stopped.

"Sorry, only patients and family back here."

"I'm her boyfriend," Ichigo said, earning a sharp glare from Rukia. But he knew that they would let him back if he actually was her boyfriend.

The doctor nodded and walked back, showing Rukia into a room where she sat down on the white bed and was instructed to put on a white gown.

Ichigo turned around.

Once she was laying down, the doctor came back in and began her check-up. He asked how she felt; she said horrible. He asked what her symptoms were; Ichigo had to answer because she didn't know what he meant. He asked if there was anyway she could be pregnant; she coughed, turned bright red and said no.

"Well, I think it's just the flu, but I want to take a blood sample, OK?"

Rukia nodded, but changed her mind when she saw that he planned to use a needle.

"I don't like needles," she said shamelessly, sitting up and backing away from the doctor. Ichigo walked over and said,

"It doesn't hurt much. And it'll only take a second."

Rukia still looked doubtful, but nodded, anyway. The doctor, who had said his name was Ryuu, smiled gently and turned to Ichigo, who was still standing next to Rukia. He said,

"Hold her hand."

Ichigo nodded and reached over, taking her small, pale hand in his own rough, scarred one. The doctor tied a rubber-band around Rukia's arm and then inserted the needle; Rukia winced and gripped Ichigo's hand, watching as her blood filled the small tube. She looked frightened.

Ichigo put his other hand on her back, gently rubbing it as the doctor took out the full tube and put in the second one. Rukia was still staring at the needle, scared as the red liquid filled the clear tube.

As he watched her, Ichigo was surprised. She was scared of getting her blood taken, but she had seen so much worse than this. _So_ much worse.

When the doctor was done, he gave Rukia a bandaid that had a bunny on it and she smiled.

"I need to check a few things, still. Since this is a routine check-up, I need to check weight, height, and eyesight, OK?"

Rukia nodded and stood to her feet, changing back into her dress when Ryuu said she could. Again, Ichigo turned around.

After he was done with the basics and her chart was full, Ryuu said,

"You have written on your chart that you haven't had any of your shots. Is that right?"

Rukia nodded her head.

"Well, it is very important that you get those. Come with me and I'll ask Sakura to do that for you, OK?"

Thirty minutes, four shots and a very tired Rukia later, they were leaving the office with Ichigo promising to pick up her prescription at the pharmacy and to bring Rukia back in a few weeks for a follow-up.

When they jumped into his car, Rukia leaned back in her seat, her eyes closing.

Ichigo asked,

"So, how did you like the doctors?"

She muttered, "Doctors suck," before falling to sleep, her hand over her bunny band-aid.

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As I said, I haven't been to a doctor in about six years, so I don't remember everything. :P So live with it, and flame if you want! _(Smiles)_

**Please Review!**


	4. Nov 19 — Only In Writing

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Only In Writing

"What are you writing, Ichigo?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as he turned around to see Rukia, chewing on an apple and trying to see around him and at the paper he was writing. He quickly covered it and glared at her. She frowned, chewing on a rather hard piece of her apple and then spit it out, saying,

"God, what do they put in these apples?"

"That's the _core_, baka. You don't eat it," Ichigo said, eying the small bit of already-been-chewed apple core now decorating his carpet.

"Oh. So, what are you writing?" Rukia asked again, avoiding the core as she continued to chew on her apple.

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Nothing. Go away."

"Why?"

"Because, I told you to. Out of my room," he said, motioning with his hand for her to leave. She shook her head.

"I can't. Your family is downstairs."

Ichigo groaned, rolling his head back and staring at the ceiling.

"_Fine_ then, go to your closet."

_Since when had it become _her_ closet?_ he wondered.

Rukia stuck her tongue out at him but soon climbed into her closet, closing the door part-way behind her. There was two loud screeches that followed; Rukia's and then Kon's. The latter of the two flew out of the closet at full force and was followed by Rukia's shrill voice.

"And stay out, you perverted little ball of fluff!"

Ichigo bit back a laugh as he watched Kon struggle to his fluffy little feet and crawl into a corner, whimpering about how Ichigo had corrupted his little Nee-san.

He shook his head and uncovered what he was writing; it was a poem. An assignment from his English class, for being late. He had been forced to write either a poem focused around the people he loved most, or around nature. And he had never been one for nature, because the teacher had said he would write about rain. So he had chosen the other option.

And he would never let_ her_ see it.

Because his love for her was only in writing.

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Yes, I am aware it was TINY. But that was what I wrote, so live with it. _(Smiles)_

**Please Review!**


	5. Nov 20 — Daddy Pt VII — Grandfather

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters. Thanks to **CrystalRaindroo007** for beta'ing!

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**Daddy Pt: VII — Grandfather**

"And dad, I _swear_, if you even _think_ of corrupting their minds with anything perverted, I'll _kill_ you."

Ichigo stared at his dad, not quite ready to let Kaien and Masaki stay with his crazy, manic father for the day. But Isshin just smiled happily and said,

"Oh, why on Earth would I do that Ichigo? Their so sweet and innocent; of course I wouldn't corrupt them!"

Rukia, who was standing next to Ichigo, rolled her eyes. She leaned over and whispered to him, "Ichigo, I _really _don't like this idea. Why can't we leave them with my brother?"

"Because your brother isn't even in the same dimension as us. And believe me, I don't like this anymore than you do. But Yuzu, Karin were all busy today and Ishida and Orihime have their own O.B. appointment today. Dad was the last option."

Rukia groaned again and bent down beside Kaien and Masaki, holding out her arms as they both ran to hug her.

Masaki said,

"Bye bye mommy!"

"Bye, sweetie. Be good for Granddaddy, OK?"

Masaki nodded and then ran over to Ichigo while Kaien hugged Rukia.

"Do you have to go, mommy? Why can't we come with you?" he said, tears shining in his bright violet eyes as he clung onto Rukia tightly.

"Because, baby, mommy and daddy have to do something very important, OK?"

Kaien nodded and wiped his tears away, resting his head on Rukia's chest as she stood up with him still in her arms. She turned to Isshin and said,

"Both he and Masaki are going to need a nap in a few hours. And Kaien doesn't like carrots and rice; he won't eat them so don't try feeding them to him. Masaki has a cold and she needs her medicine soon. It's in their bag. And please, don't get them hyper. They need to go to bed before eight."

Isshin nodded, his eyebrows raising as he watched Rukia. She whispered something to Kaien and kissed him on the cheek before putting him down beside his sister.

Ichigo put his arm around Rukia and looked at his dad once more before sighing.

"OK. Look dad, if I come back and they are hurt, you die."

Isshin nodded, smirking. "What? You don't even trust your own father with his grandkids?"

"No."

Isshin pouted and said, "Your appointment is at two. It's one forty-five, go on. They'll be fine with me!" The look on his face suggested otherwise, but both Ichigo and Rukia knew that he was right; they only had a few minutes to get to their appointment.

"Bye-bye daddy and mommy!" Masaki said happily, bouncing up and down, her black shoulder-length hair flapping in the wind. Kaien waved to, wiping his tears away as he ran to hug Rukia again before they climbed into the car.

Isshin turned to the kids.

"So, what should we do first?"

"I want mommy!" Kaien cried, tears slipping down his tiny face.

Isshin sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Ichigo, I _really_ don't like leaving them with your dad."

"Rukia, it'll be fine. He raised me after all, didn't he?"

If it was possible, Rukia looked even more worried. Ichigo looked over at her for a second, smirking, before focusing his attention back onto the road. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Rukia spoke again.

"Ichigo, what if this doesn't work?"

He reached his hand over and placed it over her own, reassuring her with a smile that she rarely ever saw unless he was with her, Kaien or Masaki.

"We'll go from there. But we just have to pray and hope it works; OK?"

Rukia nodded, looking down at her feet. Ichigo spoke again.

"I know you wanted to conceive naturally, but the doctor said that might not be possible. Besides, if this doesn't work, I'm happy with just Kaien and Masaki. We'll be fine, right?"

Rukia knew that he would be happy with just Kaien and Masaki, like he'd said, but she also knew that she wanted a baby just as much as he did. They would both move on if it couldn't happen... she didn't even know when her life had changed so much. One day, she was scared because she was pregnant, and now, she wanted another baby so badly that it hurt.

Rukia nodded bravely, and Ichigo could tell how badly she wanted this. He smiled softly and said,

"When did this all happen? I mean... one day we were just fighting Hollows, trying to make the world a better place to live, and the next thing I know, I have a baby and I'm getting married. When did our yelling and fighting stop?"

"Never?" It was more of a question than a statement. Ichigo laughed.

"You're right. But it just seems to have happened so fast. Before you came, I could have never imagined myself settling down and having a family. But now, I have you and Kaien and Masaki, and I couldn't imagine my life turning out any different."

Rukia looked over and smiled.

"Where do you think you would be today if you had never met me?"

"Hm... I don't know. I would probably be living alone, coming home to an empty apartment everyday. I most certainly wouldn't be married, have two kids and trying for a third," Ichigo said, turning on his blinker as they turned into the clinic. "Come on. Let's go see if we can have a baby."

Rukia got out of the car and walked over to Ichigo, taking his hand as they walked inside. The reception area looked normal; there were chairs lining the wall and several kids playing around while their parents were seeing the specialists. The kids were being watched by a young woman who looked as though she loved her job. The walls were light blue and the carpet was a contrasting tan color. There were bright lights filling the room, and the man behind the desk had his feet perched up on top of it and was reading a magazine.

When Ichigo went up, the man asked him to fill out a chart, handed it to him, and then went back to chewing his gum and his car magazine.

Ichigo sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Isshin sighed as he put the kids down for their nap; Kaien had cried for nearly half an hour after Rukia had left. Isshin had smiled on it somewhat, as the little boy acted just like Ichigo had. He would let go of his mother during school, but sometimes, he would just cry for no reason when his mommy was gone.

Masaki had passed out after she and Kaien had eaten lunch, and Kaien had sat up and played Sorry! with Isshin for a while before falling to sleep again. Kaien had won all the games.

Isshin sighed again. Maybe he was just destined to be beaten by his grandkids.

Smiling like an idiot as a sleepy Masaki walked into the living room, Isshin stood up from the couch and walked over, picking her up in his arms.

"Hey, Masi," he said, using his pet name for her. She smiled and patted his cheeks.

"You have stickers like daddy," she said, rubbing her hands back and forth on the hair he had forgotten to shave off. "But daddy doesn't have stickers, anymore; he took them off this morning. I helped him!" she said happily, rubbing her hands over her eyes. Isshin smiled.

"You helped him?"

"Uh huh. Mommy did too, but Kaien was sleeping," Masaki stopped and giggled. "He seeps in his unda' wear!"

Isshin would forever fail to see how that was funny, be he played along.

"Really? Do you sleep in your underwear?"

"No! I sleep in my PJ's. And I swept with mommy and daddy last night. I had a bad dweam."

"What was it about?" Isshin asked.

"Evil bunnies!"

"Evil... bunnies?"

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia sat in the waiting room, both anxiously waiting for the doctor to call them back. It took over a good thirty minutes until he did, though. Rukia was slightly nervous and Ichigo was trying to calm her.

Finally, a nurse said, "Mr. and Mrs. Kurosaki?"

"That's us," Ichigo said, standing to his feet and taking Rukia's hand when she grouped for his, leaning onto him as they walked into the back room.

She whispered to him, "Ichigo, what if they can't help?"

He squeezed her hand tightly and said,

"We'll be fine, Rukia. We'll be fine."

* * *

Isshin pouted as Kaien beat him for the forth time.

"I win again!" the little boy said happily, jumping up and down as he threw his hands in the air. Isshin sighed and put his head in his hands, giving himself the look that his face was dripping through his fingers. Masaki laughed at him and fell onto the couch, her big eyes glowing happily as Isshin put on a big show of having a fit on the floor.

"But _I _wanted to win this time!"

Kaien laughed harder and sat back down, pulling his overalls up to suck on them.

"I want to play again!" he said.

And soon the next round was started. Masaki was red, Isshin was yellow ("Is so NOT girls color," Isshin protested) and Kaien was blue. Right as Isshin was about to bring his last piece into its safety zone, Kaien picked up his card and said, "Oops! Sorry, Grandpa!"

Isshin groaned as his piece was bumped back to start.

Masaki won this time, and Isshin gave up, falling down onto the floor in an overly dramatic way.

"I hungry," Masaki said, standing to her feet and walking into the kitchen. Isshin followed and Kaien, jumping up and down at he had gotten second place, bounced after them both.

"How about stew for dinner?" Isshin said, glancing into the refrigerator.

"Does it have carrots?"

Isshin groaned.

It ended up being Macaroni and Cheese, which Masaki wouldn't eat unless it had hot dogs in it.

After they were done, Isshin felt like taking a nap himself, but he knew leaving little kids along was a bad idea. So, they played Sorry.

Again.

And Isshin lost.

_Again_.

"This game is rigged, I tell you!" he whined, his bottom lip sticking out.

Kaien laughed again.

* * *

When Ichigo and Rukia came back later that night, Isshin was nearly asleep on his feet. Masaki and Kaien _were_ asleep, though, and were carried out to the car by Ichigo and set inside. Rukia stayed outside with them while Ichigo talked to his dad.

"So, how did it go? Will I have another grandchild soon?"

Ichigo smiled.

"They said that the chances she would become pregnant were about seventy percent. So we have a good shot. We're going in in a week to have the actual procedure done. Will you be able to watch Kaien and Masaki again?"

Isshin smiled.

"Yeah. But Ichigo, could you bring your game of Sorry? Mine's evil."

* * *

Well, I told you it would be up! And I had a lot of fun writing this. Anyway, again, I hope you like this! _(Willingly hands over matches and lighters) _Flame if you like!

**Also! **If I am to make Rukia have another child, do you want boy or girl? And Ishida and Orihime (In my story) are gonna have a kid, too. **Boy or girl? **You can vote in both cases.

**Please Review!**


	6. Nov 21 — Winter Wear

You can flame if you so wish. But please leave me nice reviews! Or something that will help me improve. HOPE YOU LIKE!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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Winter Wear

Ichigo Kurosaki was about to pull his bright orange hair out as the raven haired Shinigami in front of him voiced her question for what had to be the tenth time.

"But why?"

"For _God's sake_ Rukia, just put the stupid hat on!"

"But why?"

Rukia was truly confused. It appeared that they never had as harsh a winter in Soul Society as they had here on Earth, and as such, Rukia didn't know what a damn hat and scarf were.

"Because, if you don't, you'll get sick."

"Oh."

Ichigo was sure, _so_ sure she was just going to put the hat on, but _no_, she was _always_ curious.

"How would I get sick?"

Their friends, Ishida, Orihime, Chad and Renji, who were waiting outside the door, had brought their own winter wear or, in Renji's case, happily accepted it from Ichigo. And, as a _very_ large vein popped in Ichigo's head, he knew that they were enjoying this.

"Because, the cold will get you sick, and I don't want that. Now, put the hat and scarf on. Now!"

Rukia shrugged and put the hat on her head. She then took the scarf from his hands and looked it over.

"Why do I have to wear this?"

Ichigo took the scarf out of her hands, wrapped it around her neck and tied it tight so she couldn't get it off.

"Ichigo! It's strangling me!"

"Good."

* * *

Well, whatcha think? Did I make you laugh? _(Hopes)_

**Please Review!**


	7. Nov 22 — I'll Be With You Tonight

**_§●IMPORTANT NOTE!●§_**

I will NOT be updatign **Before The Rain **and **Shadows In The Night** until the alert systems _(Story alerts, author alerts, review alerts and PMs)_ are up and working again! The reason for this is because **SITN** is on **80** alerts and none of those people will get the e-mails if I update. If the system takes too long to fix itself, though, I will update no matter what! I promise; the chapters are already written!

I will accept flames and I hope you like this.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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I'll be With You Tonight

Rukia fell to the ground, her knees giving on beneath her. The rain pounded down on her, mixing with the blood she knew was pouring out of her small body.

_She hated the rain . . . _

He removed his Zanpaktou from her heart with a look of horror on his face. His hand, slick with the rain and from her blood, dropped the Zanpaktou as he fell down beside her.

"Rukia! God . . . _No!_"

_He hated the rain . . ._

"No! _Rukia_!"

He gently pulled her frail, broken body to him and held her tightly. She was barely breathing; he knew she would die soon . . . and there was nothing he could do. _He_ had killed her . . .

_Please, don't leave me . . ._

"No!"

His voice echoed through the rainy night. The thunder roared, blocking his screams from ever reaching the ears of anyone and the lightning lit up the sky, illuminating her small body clasped tightly to him.

"I-Ichigo . . ."

Ichigo looked down, his eyes filled with anguish. Rukia had her violet eyes open as she reached her hand up to his face. She pressed her small, cold hand to his cheek.

"I-I love . . . y-you . . ."

_I love you, too . . ._

"Rukia, please don't speak. Please . . . hold on. God, please, don't die!"

"I-It wasn't y-you, f-fool," she stuttered, her hand falling to her side as her chest rose and fell for the last time. She said, "I-It was ­_h-him_ . . ."

_He killed her . . . not you . . ._

"No, Rukia, please. . . please . . . _No_!"

He buried his face in her shirt as he sobbed loudly; he hadn't cried like this since his mother had died. He had killed his mom, and now . . . now, he had killed Rukia. He could have broken through it . . . he could have pushed him back inside. But he had allowed the evil that rested within him out so he could protect her . . . but she had died . . . _he_ had killed her. He could have . . . could have . . . dammit! He could have won! He could have killed that damn Hollow inside of him!

_I'll be with you tonight . . ._

"No, Rukia . . . come back, don't die, God, please, don't die. _Please_, I love you . . . I _love_ you!"

But she was gone. She was gone . . . forever . . .

_I'll be with you forever . . ._

And as he griped onto her body tightly and sobbed, he swore he could feel her soft hand on his shoulder. He would be with her forever . . . he couldn't live without her.

_I'll follow you wherever you go . . ._

"_NO_!"

Even through the thunder and the rain, he knew that he was heard. If not by anyone else, then by _her_.

_I'll follow you . . . someday . . . Wait for me._

* * *

Hmm . . . did it make you sad or want to gag?

That rhymed. :D

**Please Review!**


	8. Nov 23 — Thanksgiving

I thought I would put up something for Thanksgiving. ALSO, I do NOT know if they have Thanksgiving in Japan, but what the heck, it's fanfiction.

I hope you enjoy and flames will be accepted, but ignored.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **I live in a different time zone than most of you probably do, so I when I update, it might say that I did it on the wrong day. But I didn't! I am putting a new story out every 24 hours!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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Thanksgiving

"Ichigo, what is 'Thanksgiving'?" Rukia asked, dropping down onto his bed with a sigh. He looked over at her then continued to ignore her. She growled and threw her shoe at him, hitting him square in the head.

"Fine. Fine. Thanksgiving was created many, many years ago on a planet far, far away by a race that had- "

Rukia sensed that Ichigo was having far too much fun, so she threw her other shoe at him.

"Gah! What the hell was that for?"

"Baka! Tell me what Thanksgiving is!"

Ichigo, growling and rubbing his very sore head, began explaining. When Rukia asked if she would be able to take part in it, Ichigo said,

"Well, we usually don't have many people over. I don't think we're planning on having anyone over this year, actually. I mean . . . we usually invite Inoue because she doesn't have anyone to go with, but Tatsuki invited her this year, so . . ."

"That _did not_ answer my question," Rukia pointed out, reaching down to grab one of his shoes. He saw her going for it and yelled,

"Yes! I think I can ask my dad if a stupid, manic, family-less girl can come this year!"

That only earned him a kick.

"I have family!"

"What? That psychotic brother of yours? Hah!"

Rukia glared at him and he sensed that he should shut up.

"So, I can come?"

"Whatever, baka. Now, I'm trying to do my homework, go away! Chase a Hollow or a mouse . . . or a bunny . . . or something," he said, turning around to ignore her again.

"Why is it called Thanksgiving?"

Ichigo groaned.

"Because, it's a day that people _give thanks_."

"Oh."

She was silent for a while and Ichigo welcomed it. He began quickly scribbling something down for the essay that he would go through later. A rough draft; he liked to call it . . . until the last possible second. But that was only because Hollows always interrupted him, and he felt it better to have something, if crappy, to turn in than nothing at all.

And right when he thought that Rukia was going to be a good girl and let him finished his homework, she said,

"So why didn't they call it 'Give thanks'?"

"Because, it sounds stupid. Now, will you _please_ shut _up_ and let me finish my work?" Ichigo said. Rukia was silent. "Thank you."

He was about to scream at the top of his lungs when she said,

"One of the girls mentioned cooking was involved. Could I help?"

"Sure. Just go downstairs and tell Yuzu and Karin you want to; say you're a friend from school that Ichigo invited to Thanksgiving tomorrow. I'm allowed to invite anyone I want . . . _within reason_. And I'm sure Karin will jump at the chance to get out of the kitchen . . . and Yuzu will jump at the chance to kick her out of the kitchen . . ."

Rukia nodded and jumped off his bed, walking to the door and opening it to walk out.

Ichigo called after her,

"Just don't poison us!"

She had a feeling that one of the years that the Kurosakis _had_ had Inoue over, they had all had stomaches for a few days.

* * *

"OK, in following tradition, We go around the table in a circle and say something we're thankful for. Yuzu, you start for daddy, OK?" Isshin said loudly. Yuzu nodded smiling,

"I'm thankful for Rukia-chan's help in the kitchen yesterday!"

She was followed by Karin:

I'm thankful I _didn't_ have to help yesterday."

"Ichigo! You now!"

He smiled over at Rukia as he said,

"I'm thankful I can protect the people I love."

"Would you like to go now, Rukia-chan?" Yuzu asked, the smile still on her face as she looked at Rukia, who was setting in between Ichigo and his father.

"Why, sure! Thank you, Yuzu. I'm thankful for . . . " she paused and looked thoughtful for a second. "Those who rescued me from myself."

Ichigo smiled at her as his whole family looked confused.

Isshin said,

"Thank you, Rukia-chan! I'm thankful that . . . _ICHIGO FINALLY GOT A GIRLFRIEND_!"

As Ichigo jumped out of his chair and began attacking his dad, Karin sighed and began picking at the turkey. Yuzu just glanced over at Rukia and said,

"Sorry about brother and daddy! They do this a lot!"

"I know, Yuzu. I know."

She just smiled as she watched them.

_Even if not by blood . . . I do have a family . . . _

* * *

I had such fun writing this. I hope you had fun reading it!

**Please Review!**


	9. Nov 24 — Smile For Me

Well, this is like a prologue to the story **I'll Be With You Tonight**. I decided to make it because I felt some things had to be explained. So, if you haven't read the other one, go do so! _(Playful poke)_

**Flashbacks **in _ITALICS!_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

**Smile For Me**

I tried so hard not to fall in love with her. I tried to shut her out of my thoughts and my feelings, but she broke through. She broke through my barrier and wormed her way into my heart. I really tried to shut her out, I tried to shove her aside so she wouldn't get hurt. But she made my wall crumble to pieces.

_"Ichigo,"_

_The quiet, soft voice broke into his thoughts. Ichigo didn't even turn his head to look at the young, raven haired Shinigami he knew was standing behind him. He took a deep breath in and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping one arm loosely around them. Rukia walked over and sat down beside him, laying down on the grass and placing her head in his lap._

_Surprised, he looked down at her, but she had closed her eyes and curled into a ball beside him, her small, slim fingers resting on his own hand. _

_He just smiled, trying to hide the blush on his face as he let his fingers run over the soft skin of her hand. She smiled quietly._

He had tried. But she had broken through so easily. With just her quiet, beautiful voice and the touch of her small hands, she had made him believe that he could live and love again.

She didn't even have to try.

_"How come you are always frowning?"_

_It had been an innocent question. She had only intended it as a conversation starter, but it had become so much more._

_"Because I don't have a reason to smile."_

_The answer was just as simple as the question. _

_Rukia's eyes were filled with sadness as she moved over next to him on his bed and placed her hand on his cheek, turning his head to where he could meet her eyes. He saw the pain there and he felt his heart sink. He hated seeing her sad . . ._

_"Let me help you smile."_

_And she had kissed him. _

_The one touch of her lips on his was enough to make him moan quietly. She pulled back just as quickly as she had started, and when her eyes searched his, she could see the built up tension inside of him. She said quietly,_

_"Am I enough to help you smile?"_

_His answer came just as quietly as her question did just before he kissed her again._

_"I'll smile for you."_

Then . . . she had died. She was gone, and he would never see her again. Her smile left and her kisses faded as the days past. He tried to move on, he tried not to blame himself . . . but it was so hard. It had been his Zanpaktou that had rushed into her heart and killed her. It had been _him_ on the other side of the sword, holding it with shaky hands as he realized what he had done. But she had told him, with her last breaths of air, that it wasn't him; it wasn't his fault.

It had been the Hollow lurking inside of him . . . but he could have won if he had tried just a little harder. He could have saved her.

But as always, she never worried about herself.

She worried for only him.

_"Ichigo!"_

_Rukia's voice pierced the cold night air as she watched Ichigo fall to the ground. Pulling herself shakily to her feet, she stumbled over to where he was laying in the cold snow. His blood had already created a ocean of red around his large frame, and his Zanpaktou was covered in the blood the belonged to the Hollow he had killed._

_He smiled weakly up at her before he passed out. _

_"Hey, don't look like that . . . smile . . . for me?"_

_And she did. Through her tears of pain and sadness, she had smiled. _

_And he had lived._

He remembered saying those words to her, having no regrets if he were to die. But if he had died . . . he wanted to see her smile just once more. The gentle sway of emotions that seemed to crash upon him every time she smiled like that.

For him and only him.

The last time she had smiled was right before that damn Hollow had attacked.

_"Ichigo, what are clouds made of?"_

_Ichigo laughed and rolled over on his side so he was facing Rukia. She smiled, her head propped up on her hand as she stared into the sky._

_"Now why the hell would you ask something like that?"_

_Rukia just shrugged. Ichigo leaned over her and pressed a fleeting kiss to her lips before settling down and resting his head on her stomach. She smiled brightly and reached her hand down, running her finger through his soft hair._

_Then, her phone had rang._

The phone had rang, signaling that a Hollow was near. The beautiful smile melted off her face and was replaced by a look of concentration as he picked her up and set her on his back after she had removed his soul from his body.

They ran off together to fight the Hollow.

The Hollow that nearly killed Rukia.

He had attacked, and in the whole mess, Ichgio lost control of his powers for a brief second when he saw Rukia in danger . . . bleeding, _dying_ . . . for his mistakes.

And his Hollow had taken over in that split second. In one second, his life was changed forever as the evil being within him killed the Hollow. Then . . . that damn . . . _thing_ . . . had turned his Zanpaktou on Rukia. Ichigo fought as hard as he could, but it took less than a second for the sword to pierce her body. He watched in horror as the Hollow receded back into the dark corner that Ichigo had failed to trap him inside of.

Her blood . . . it was dripping down his Zanpaktou, painting the ground all around them in a bright, scarlet color.

Before he knew what he was doing, he had removed the Zanpaktou from her heart and fell down beside her, gathering her into his arms.

"Rukia! God . . . _No!"_

_Smile . . . Please, smile . . . for me . . ._

* * *

Well, whatcha think? I'm sorry it's sorta sad, and I'm sorry that I didn't make Rukia live. But . . . _(Ducks large objects being thrown at her) . . ._ **Sorry!**

**Please Review!**


	10. Nov 25 — Teeny Tiny

Enjoy! I wrote this while thinking of Rukia's small feet. :P

**This story DOES NOT tie into the Daddy Series! It is a completely different thing! The daddy series is ONLY the stories with "Daddy Pt: . . . . " Unless it is stated that it is Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3 - or any other part, each story is a STAND ALONE!**

And I am not mad, I just wanted to make sure people didn't by-pass those Author Notes because they **need** to be read:D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach of the characters.

**

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Teeny Tiny

Sometimes, when he was forced to sort the socks, he got them mixed up. His were pretty easy; large, mostly white or black, and not a thing like Rukia's or the kids. And Katsuo's were pretty easy, too; all colored in white and had gray heels and toes. The baby's were simple; they fit his fingers.

But it was Rukia's and Rei's that he always got mixed up, which wasn't supposed to happen; Rei was seven. But they were the same brand, so when he was forced to match the socks, he _always _got them mixed up. But somehow Rei and Rukia knew whose were whose. Rei would come to him, laughing and saying that he had mixed her socks with mommy's again, and he would stick his tongue out at her.

But when Rukia found her seven-year-old daughter's socks in her drawers, she would just start laughing, steal a pair of Ichigo's socks, and return Rei's to her.

Then she would refuse to give Ichigo his socks back until that night when she changed for bed.

Smiling to himself, Ichigo put together a pair of the Miyuki, the baby's, socks together and sat them to the side. Katsuo, who was chewing on an apple, walked inside the laundry room, his eyes lighting up when he saw Ichigo.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, squirt. Come here and tell me which socks are mommy's and which are Rei's, will you?"

Katsuo nodded and bounced happily inside, his orange hair flopping as he looked over the socks.

"I dunno. They same. Daddy, why does mommy gots teeny tiny feet-sees?" he asked, jumping up on top of the dryer as Ichigo continued fishing for the socks he _could_ match. He got a few more pairs of Katsuo's and Miyuki's before he was stumped again.

"Daddy, are mommy's feet as small as the bee-bee's?" he asked, trying to pronounce the word, frowning as he rolled it on his three-year-old tongue.

"No, sweetie. They're not that small."

"Can you fit them in you mouth?"

Ichigo burst out laughing.

Although, he _had_ tried that one.

He had gotten slapped.

"No, I don't think they'd fit."

"Oh."

Katsuo seemed disappointed as he stole one of the baby's pairs of socks, taking them apart and sticking them on his hands. His hands were so small they actually fit, which Ichigo raised an eyebrow at.

The apple forgotten, Katsuo jumped up on top of the dryer and began walking around, his sock clad hands stuck out in front of him, acting like a mummy. Ichigo laughed and reached over, picking him off the dryer and setting him on the floor just as Rukia walked in.

Ichigo sighed in relief. He asked,

"Whose socks are these? They look like Rei's."

"They're . . ." she looked around him to the socks in his hands and said, "Mine."

"Mommy gots teensy tinsy feet!" Katsuo said, now sporting Ichigo's socks around his ears and another one of the baby's socks on his nose. Rukia smiled softly at him, reaching over to mess his orange hair. He frowned and reached up, trying to pat it back in place with his sock hands.

"Yes, Katsuo; I have small feet. It's something your daddy wouldn't leave me alone about for quite a while."

"Rukia, I _never_ left you alone about your feet," Ichigo confirmed, frowning as he stuck another pair of Miyuki's socks together. "And besides, so what if you have small feet? I can eat them that way," he joked, turning to Katsuo as he said it, making a weird face. Said small child fell over into the piles of clean laundry laughing. Rukia just smirked at Ichigo as she threw the pair of socks at his head.

As she walked out of the room, saying she was going to start dinner, Ichigo made a large show of falling over dead for Katsuo.

Soon, Katsuo had the hiccups.

"Daddy -_hic_- what fer -_hic_- food?"

Ichigo laughed.

"Well, I think mommy is making stew; and Uncle Renji and Aunt Tatuski are bringing Ryuu over tonight, too."

"Yeah! -_Hic_- Ma best fri - _hic_ - nd is comin'!"

"Yep. Now, squirt, go on and clean up your room. Rei will help you clean the living room, tell daddy I told her to, OK?"

"O - _Hic _- K!"

Katsuo jumped up and ran out of the room, leaving Ichigo among a large pile of unfolded clothes and unsorted socks. He sighed and got to work on the baby's clothes; who knew a baby could go through so many pairs of clothes in a week? There were tons!

Well, he had hours.

And it would take every single one he had. Maybe, next time it was his laundry, he wouldn't let it stack up for a week.

Just maybe.

* * *

"Ryuu _-hic-_ is here -_hic_- daddy!"

Ichigo laughed as he walked out of the nursery, Miyuki on his hip. When he entered the kitchen, Rukia was hitting Renji's hand with the cooking spoon for trying to sneek a "Sample" of dinner. Ryuu and Katsuo were laughing while Tatuski was showing Rei how to give an upper-cut kick to the tender mid-section of a man.

"The socks are done!" Ichigo announced proudly, handing Miyuki to Rukia. She smirked.

"And do I have any of Rei's?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"Ichigo! Do _not_ use language like that around the kids!"

Ichigo backed off. He wasn't planning on getting hit with any cooking spoons.

"Mommy? Daddy said -_hic_- a bad word. Does -_hic_- he have to -h_ic_- wash his mouth out with so - _hic_ - ap?"

Rukia smirked but didn't answer as dinner started. Ryuu and Katsuo were playing with their stew, seeing who could eat all the carrots out of it first and Rei was talking to Tatsuki about how her Karate classes were going.

Just as Ichigo asked Renji to pass the soup, Katsuo blurted out,

"Daddy can -_hic_- eat mommy's -_hic_- feet!"

Renji spit out his soup at the same time as Ichigo hit his head on the table.

Repeatedly.

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I had SO much fun writing that! I hope you liked!

**Please Review!**


	11. Nov 26 — Her Hand In Mine

Well, this one is random. But it was what I wrote . . . so . . .Enjoy and please review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Her Hand In Mine

"Behind you, Ichigo!"

In the next split second, all her eyes saw was him as he turned around, his large, long sword flying out to meet the Hollow's claws. He had managed to avoid the main attack, but he failed to see the Hollow using its other hand to come up and attack him from below. As its claws dug into Ichigo's stomach, she screamed.

"Ichigo!"

He fell to the ground, his knees giving out beneath him.

And he didn't see anything after that.

The next thing he saw was Rukia's worried face staring down into his chocolate brown eyes. She smiled a little, backing up and sitting down in the chair that had been placed by his bed.

_He was in his own room._

"W-what . . . happened?" he asked, trying to sit up. Rukia jumped from her spot on the bed, gently pushing him back down. He went willingly, not wanting to repeat the shot of pain that flew through his nerves as he moved.

"You got injured; I wasn't able to fully heal you, so stay still."

He just nodded, realizing that even a small move like that caused him pain. Rukia noticed and reached her hand out, placing it over his stomach, trying to heal him just a little more. He couldn't even speak clearly enough to thank her, but he knew that she understood.

She always did.

"Why did you do it, Ichigo?" she asked quietly, sitting down at the foot of his bed and pulling her knees up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them.

"Do what?" he managed, feeling a _lot_ better now, but still in pain.

"Why did you fight like that? I wanted to help . . . I _could_ have helped, why didn't you let me?" she looked up into his face, her violet eyes filled with anguish.

"Because . . ."

He couldn't answer; he didn't know.

"You didn't have to throw yourself into the fight like that! You should have waited for me; I could have helped," she said, pressing herself deeper into the corner. Ichigo didn't answer; he knew that he should have waited . . . but he couldn't. That damn Hollow was begging for a fight, and he had wanted so badly to give it to him.

"I don't know, Rukia. I don't know."

She was silent for a minute, then said,

"You're stupid. You need to think before you fight. Why did you jump into a fight like that anyway?"

"Because . . ." Ichigo stopped talking again, and he could tell that his lack of answers was beginning to grate on Rukia's tired, worn out nerves.

"Because why?!"

"Because he . . . Because . . . dammit! Because he was trying to hurt _you_!"

She fell silent at his outburst. He looked at her, though not meeting her eyes.

"He was trying to hurt _you_. He didn't care about me; he wanted _you_. I did it to protect you."

Neither spoke. Rukia just sat there, her eyes wide and her mouth unmoving. Ichigo continued to not meet her eyes, staring intently at his blanket.

It was true; the Hollow had been going to Rukia. He had wanted a woman; much like the Grand Fisher. He had tried to push past Ichigo to get to Rukia. Ichigo hadn't let him, and had attacked; that had been when Rukia had shown up, right before he was stabbed through the stomach.

"You . . . You fought him . . . for me?" she asked quietly, not sure her small, soft voice had even reached his ears. But it had.

"Yeah, Rukia. I fought him for you, and I would do it again."

Rukia didn't speak as she scooted closer to him on the bed and searched for his hand with her own. He smiled as he grasped her hand in his tightly, squeezing it as she laid her head down on his chest and leaned up against him, her small body pressing into his side.

Her hand was always so small; small, pale and soft. His was large, rough and scarred.

_What I long for each and every day . . . is her hand in mine._

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That was yet _another_ short one. What did you think? That idea has been swimming around in my head so I decided to write it down.

**Please Review!**


	12. Nov 27 — Daddy Pt VIII — School

Flames will be accepted but ignored. Please review! This is part eight, and I have parts nine and ten written. :D Please enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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**Daddy Pt. VIII — School**

"But I wanna stay home with mommy!" Masaki said, trying to fight Ichigo as he worked on putting her coat on. He smiled down at her and kissed her head of black hair. She pouted, finally letting Ichigo put her coat on. He then picked her up and set her down on the counter, picking up one of her tennis shoes and putting it on her small foot, grabbing the strings to tie it. "No! I wanna do it, OK daddy?"

Ichigo nodded and smiled as Masaki took the laces into her fumbling little hands. She frowned in concentration as she tried to tie them in a knot as Ichigo had showed her time and time again.

Three and a half months ago, when Rukia had been ordered onto bedrest, because the procedure had been successful and she was now five months pregnant, Ichigo and Rukia had decided the kids would have to go back to public school. Rukia, being on bed-rest, couldn't watch them, and two small kids really did wear one out. And the doctor put Rukia under orders not to get out of bed unless it was to go to the bathroom.

So, now Kaien and Masaki were going to school again. They didn't like it as much as home school, but it was OK, they had said.

Ichigo was snapped out of his thoughts as Masaki spoke again.

"Daddy, hwelp me?"

He nodded and took the laces, expertly tying them into the small loops. Masaki kicked her feet back and forth, admiring her new shoes as she stared at her pink and white sneakers. Ichigo covered them with her pink, jean overalls and hoisted her off of the counter.

"Come on, squirt. We need to get you and Kaien to school. Backpack?"

"Check."

"Homework?"

"Check."

"Pencils and crayons?"

"Check."

"Clean socks?"

"Daddy!" Masaki said, giggling as she put her pink, bunny backpack on her back.

"Fine," Ichigo said, pretending to pout. Just then, Kaien bounced out of his room wearing a black turtleneck sweater and khaki jeans. He was smiling from ear to ear as he began talking.

"Daddy! Guess what? Yesterday at school, I met a kid named Ryo . . . he was fun! He's my bestest friend. And guess what else? We had pudding for lunch and I got to _sleep_ in school!"

Ichigo grinned as he watched Kaien bounce all around the room. Masaki was giggling as she jumped out of Ichigo's grasp and ran over to join him in his bouncing. Soon, Ichigo had to physically pick them up and take them out to the schoolbus. When they hopped on, Masaki pressed her small hands up against the window and stuck her tongue out at Ichigo before waving at Ichigo. Kaien waved, too, before sitting down beside his friend, Ryo.

With a deep sigh, Ichigo walked into the house.

Time to go to work.

* * *

Kaien took out his pencil and began doodling on the piece of paper set in front of him. He was _supposed_ to be doing Math, but maybe he could get out of it. He wished he were in the other first grade class; both Ryo and Masaki were in there. Sighing, he began drawing a bunny on the top edge of his paper.

"Kurosaki!"

Kaien snapped up with a start. His eyes flew to the mad teacher at the front of the room.

"No spacing out in school! You'll stay after class and clean out all the erasers from the chalk boards."

Kaien groaned and dropped his head onto his desk.

"Also," the teacher went on. "We have a new student. Class, I would like you to welcome Kumiko. She's a transfer student from America. I expect you to give her a warm welcome and show her around. Kurosaki; that will be part of your punishment. Kumiko will follow you around all day in order to get a better idea of the layout of the school. Understood?"

Kaien looked over at the girl who was, strangely, sitting right next to him. She smiled and waved, her eyes closed and her smile showing two missing teeth.

He just hit his head on his desk harder.

* * *

Masaki was having a better time.

"Teacher, shouldn't the answer to number three be thirty-seven?"

The teacher looked back at the board and sighed.

"You're right. I need more sleep," he continued groaning as he changed the answer on the chalkboard. It was beyond Masaki how he had gotten the answer wrong; forty minus three was thirty seven; even Kaien knew that. Maybe the teacher did need sleep.

Sighing, she went back to writing her answers down on her paper. After she filled the sheet, she put 'Masaki Kurosaki' at the top in messy, childlike writing. Jumping up from her desk, she bounced to the top of the room and gave the teacher her paper. He raised his eyebrows as he looked it over.

"Wow. The youngest of us finished first."

Masaki beamed as she settled back into her desk and pulled out her notebook, opening it up to the page filled with her drawings, and began sketching. Ryo, Kaien's friend, leaned over and looked at them.

"Wow. You suck."

He mumbled under his breath, rubbing the spot on his head where she had hit him with her eraser, and went back to his Math.

* * *

Masaki was grinning happily and she swung back and forth on the swing. It was recess, and she liked being outside. Besides the fact that it was cold. The chilly October air was blowing her hair around, causing it to fly in her face every now ant then.

"Masaki!"

Masaki looked up as her name was called and laughed. Kaien was standing in front of her, covered from head to toe, in chalk. She soon fell out of the swing she was laughing so hard. Kaien pouted.

"It's not that funny!"

She just continued laughing. Kaien ignored her and said, "Where's Ryo?"

Maskai pointed across the playground to where the little boy was sitting on a slide. Kaien watched as he went to the bottom, then ran over without so much as uttering 'thanks' to Masaki. She just shrugged and went back to swinging.

* * *

"I hate this."

"I know, Kuchiki-san. But it'll all be over in four months."

Rukia just groaned more, wishing she could get out of bed and _do something._ She spoke into the phone, "I just want this kid out."

Orihime, who was on the other end, laughed.

"I know how you feel. My baby is overdue. It's a girl, by the way! And she should have come a week ago; if she isn't born within the next week, me and Uryuu are going to have the doctors induce labor. And guess what? All throughout my pregnancy, Uryuu wouldn't let me cook; he said I might miscarry if I ate my own cooking."

Rukia laughed at her friend. That very well might have happened.

"Ichigo does all the cooking now. I can't even come out of bed to eat with him and the kids; this _really_ sucks. But sometimes Ichigo will help me onto the couch so I can play with the kids."

"By the way, how are they doing, not that their back in school again?" Orihime asked, and Rukia was sure she could hear the other woman crunching on a carrot on the other end of the phone.

"Good. They like it. I miss them here, but I simply couldn't have them home during the day while Ichigo wasn't here. I hate not being able to do anything."

Orihime chuckled.

The two woman often called each other because both were on bed rest, and while Uryuu and Ichigo were at work, there was nothing for them to do. And on top of that, their husbands had their Shinigami and Quincy duties . . . so they were alone ever more often. Ichigo said he was just glad they they got unlimited calling for only twenty dollars a month.

Rukia had stuck her tongue out at him.

"Have you guys thought of a name?" Rukia asked.

"Ah . . . yeah."

"Really?" Rukia asked, excited. "What is it?"

"Um . . . well, Uryuu asked me not to tell you, soo . . ." Orihime cut herself off.

"Oh. Well I understand."

"Anyway, enough about my baby. How did _your_ appointment go yesterday?"

"It went great. The doctor said the baby and I were doing well . . . and we found out the sex."

"What?! Well, boy or girl?" exclaimed Orihime. Rukia giggled. She sometimes doubted the fact that Orihime was twenty-four. But she was. Then again . . . Rukia barely _ever_ thought that Ichigo was his age. Though he never failed to make her realize it, however, when they made love.

"The doctor said girl!"

"Oh, wow!"

Orihime and Rukia talked for a while more until Orihime said she had to go; Ishida was home and they had a doctor appointment. Rukia said good-bye and they both hung up.

Turning around in bed and picking up her book, Rukia began another boring day.

* * *

"I can't tie ma shoes!" Masaki said, dropping down onto the ground and pulling her foot up to her face. The shoe remained untied. She pouted, crossing her arms over her white T-shirt.

She was getting ready for gym, and, having changed into a pair of red shorts and her tee in the girls locker room, she was now trying to tie her shoe.

"Can I help?"

Masaki looked up to see Kaien's friend, Ryo, looking down at her. She noticed her shoes were tied.

"How'd you learn?" she asked, putting her foot out for him to tie the laces.

"In kindergarden. But I heard you were smart enough to skip it."

"Uh huh."

"There. All done. Where is Kaien?" Ryo asked, looking around.

Both first grade classes usually met up for gym, but the second class was late. Masaki shrugged and looked around the gym. Several of the girls were, like her, already ready, and all of the boys were. Masaki stuck her fingers in her mouth as she surveyed the faces of her classmates. She was the youngest by a whole year, and everyone else was taller and bigger than her.

Ryo walked away, having seen Kaien enter the room.

Masaki put her hands on the bench beside her and kicked her legs back and forth, chewing on a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face.

"Hey, do you have any money?"

Masaki looked up when a boy, about twice her size, spoke. He was in her brothers class, she knew, and he was supposed to be in second grade but wasn't smart enough to get in.

"Yeah. I gots my lunch money," Masaki said, still swinging her legs back and forth.

"Good. Give it to me."

Masaki realized too late that this boy was the "Bully" that her brother was talking about.

"No. I needs it for lunch."

"I said give it to me." He pulled her off of the bench by her shirt. He was just about to drop her onto the floor when he received a kick to the face. Masaki fell back onto the bench with a thunk to see Ryo and Kaien both standing there. Kaien had been the one to kick the boy while Ryo was now sitting on top of him, holding his hands behind his back. Kaien asked,

"You OK?"

Masaki nodded, scooting down the bench and further away from the boy.

"Teacher! Nao was bothering another kid again!" Kaien called. Soon, his teacher, Mrs. Adria, walked over and ordered Ryo to get off of him.

"He tried to takes my milk money," Masaki said, pulling her feet up under her as she stuck her fingers in her mouth again and stared at Nao, who was still being sat on by Ryo.

"Well, I don't think he'll do it again. Especially not with these two boys around to protect you, right?"

Ryo and Kaien nodded happily. Kaien then took his sisters hand and the three began walking. Masaki reached over and took Ryo's hand, too, causing him to freeze for a second then blush. Masaki swung their hands back and forth in hers as they walked to the other end of the gym to start dodge ball, that days sport.

"Thanks, guys!"

They just smiled.

School was hard, but when you have friends, it's better.

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Name suggestions are now being taken for both Orihime's baby and Rukia's. I have names already, but if I find one I like better, it WILL be used!

**Please Review!**


	13. Nov 28 — Kiss It Better

Flames will be accepted but ignored. :P Please read, review and have fun! I made this on a spur-of-the-moment thing, so please be nice! Anyway, I hope you like it; personally, I think it's cute.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters!

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Kiss It Better

"What did you do this time?" Ichigo asked, sighing as Rukia showed him her finger, which she was holding a washrag over. Said washrag was covered in blood, as the cut underneath was deep. Ichigo made her sit down as he removed the washrag. Rukia winced and closed her eyes for a second before opening them again to find Ichigo, scowling, staring at her finger. He reached out his other hand and pressed her slim finger in between his. The cut moved apart and Ichigo could see the bone; it was deep.

"Ouch! That hurts, baka!" Rukia yelled, trying to pull her hand back. But Ichigo had a strong hold on it.

"You cut it down to the bone; what the hell happened?"

Rukia muttered something under her breath that he didn't hear.

"Huh?"

"I said, I was cooking and the knife slipped."

"Can't you heal it?"

Rukia shook her head. "No. I spent too much of my strength healing _you_ last night, and until some of my power returned from last night, I'm afraid I'm too week to even heal my finger."

Ichigo sighed and pressed the cut closed again, causing Rukia to wince.

"Come on into the bathroom, I'll stitch it up."

Rukia nodded and stood to her feet, following Ichigo into the bathroom and sitting on the closed toilet. He began shuffling through the cupboards and finally found what he was looking for.

"We need to clean it first. Take the washrag away and hold it over the sink, OK? And this might sting."

Rukia raised an eyebrow. Ichigo shrugged and poured some of the disinfectant over her cut.

"_Ouch_!" Rukia yelled, pulling her finger pack, causing blood and the clear liquid that was slowly rolling off of her finger to mix together and fall to the floor. "What the _hell_ was that?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"It's a cleaner. It'll keep the wound from getting infected. Now, give your hand back; your finger needs more."

Rukia glared at him and shook her head. There was no way she was going to let him do _that_ again. He put his hands on his hips and glared right back. Rukia knew that she could stare him in the eye for as long as she wanted, but the stinging pain in her finger was getting worse, and she wanted it to stop. So, she sighed and said,

"Fine. But tell me when you're gonna do that, OK?"

Ichigo nodded. And poured more on her finger, knowing that he didn't have to tell her then as she was staring at her finger, ready for the pain. When it landed on the open, deep cut, she winced but didn't yell.

"OK. I'm done. Now, I need to stitch it."

Rukia nodded and Ichigo sat down on the bathtub next to her and began. It took a total of ten minutes, six stitches and a very much in pain Rukia to finish. The cut, which had gone from the middle of her finger up to the top of it, was closed and Ichigo was beginning to wrap gauze around it. Rukia asked,

"If you kiss something, will it really feel better?"

Ichigo was surprised at the question, and didn't bother hiding said surprise.

"Why the hell would you ask a question like that?"

Rukia shrugged.

"Some girls at school said it. So, will it feel better?"

"No, I doubt it. Girls are dumb."

Rukia hit him and he mumbled under his breath as he continued wrapping her finger.

"Will you try?"

Ichigo raised his eyebrows at her, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Why?"

"Because you made it hurt in the first place."

"No, you did, by cutting it," Ichigo pointed out, grabbing some tape to finish it, but as he was about to put the tape on, the gauze fell off. He groaned.

"You poured that crap on it. And it hurt," Rukia said. Ichigo sighed.

"Fine. Just shut up."

Ichigo quickly kissed her finger before finishing the wrapping. After he taped it on, he walked out, pulling Rukia with him. She smiled, thanked him, and disappeared into her closet. Ichigo flopped back down on his bed.

And her finger did feel better. But not because it had been kissed . . . but because it had been kissed by _him_.

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Well, it was short, but personally, I liked it. I don't think it's one of my best, but I still liked it. :D

**Please Review!**


	14. Nov 29 — Pt I — Valentine's Day

I got the idea while I was cleaning out my room and found an _old_ box of chocolates from my best friend. So, I decided to write it down and see how it went over. How does it look? _(Well . . . read it first!)_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters!

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Valentine's Day

"Who's Valentine and why does he get a day named after him?"

Ichigo sighed. He should have seen this coming.

Motioning for Rukia to come over to where he was standing on the school roof, he began explaining. She listened happily, drinking it all in. When he had finished explaining, of course, it was question and answer time.

"So . . . does everyone take part in it?"

"Not me."

"Why? I heard a lot of girls saying that they were planning on giving you gifts tomorrow."

Ichigo just shrugged. He stuck the straw of his juice box in his mouth and sucked, sighing when Rukia handed him hers. Rolling his eyes and realizing that he was going to have to teach her soon, he stuck the straw in and handed it back to her. She took it, and, without a thank you, began sucking on it. After a few seconds, she said,

"Well, why don't you take part in it?"

"Two reasons. First, Valentine's Day is where _girls_ give gifts to _guys;_ the gifts are mostly chocolates. The next month, on March 14, _White Day_, guys return the gifts. Even if I wanted to take part, I couldn't until March. Second reason . . . because there's no one I care for in that way. I mean . . . I give my sisters the chocolates that _I _get, but their family. Outside of that, I don't do anything because I don't like to encourage girls if I don't like 'em. And Rukia . . ."

"Hm?"

"Don't give anyone a gift unless you like . . . really care for them. You're attractive enough without having to prod the boys."

Ichigo realized what he had said a second too late as Rukia raised her eyebrow at him. He turned his head away and concentrated on his juice box to hide the blush that was spreading over his face.

"OK. So, I can't give anything to Ishida-kun or Sado-kun?"

"Well, they would be OK because they know that their your friend and their not the kind of guys that are going to try and take advantage of you. Now, take Keigo for instance; he knows that you don't know much about Japan, but he thinks it just because your a transfer student. He'll be trying to get you to do things you know nothing about. So be careful, alright?"

Rukia nodded and Ichigo, apperently happy that she wouldn't do anything stupid, pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on and began walking back to class.

Man, if Rukia hadn't told him, he wouldn't have even realized that it was Valentine's Day tomorrow. He tried to forget about these things, you see. And on White Day, he usually found a reason to stay home sick because girls kept coming up to him and asking if he had a present for them.

Which he didn't.

And he didn't want to be mean to them, he just didn't like to take part in that holiday.

The rest of the day crawled by slowly, and when school was finally out, Ichigo waited outside the building until Rukia came bouncing out. She was smiling, as in her last class she had gotten no homework.

Ichigo, however, was well known in not taking part in Valentine's day or White day, so he had been forced, along with a few others in the class, to write a poem about love. Which he would finish in minutes.

Sighing, he began walking home, his bag slung over his shoulder and his hands stuffed in his pockets. Rukia watched him the whole way home, and as they were about a block away, she asked,

"Where can I buy chocolate?"

"Hmm . . . well, there is a place we can stop right before we get home. Do you have money?"

"Yes."

It was the money she had wormed out of him a week ago.

When they reached the shop, Rukia bounced inside and she went searching for what she needed; Ichigo just leaned up against the counter, a bored look on his face as he watched her check the prices on the chocolates; he had taught her the value of money weeks before, thank God.

After she was done, she followed him out, a bag in her hand. Ichigo looked at it, raising an eyebrow at the contents.

"Three, huh? Any secret boyfriends I should know about?"

Rukia stuck her tongue out at him and used her elbow to hit him. He stumbled a few feet and managed to regain his balance before standing beside her again and sticking his hands in his pockets.

They walked in silence until they reached Ichigo's house; they parted while Ichigo went upstairs to his room through the front door and Rukia used the window.

And, as usual, Isshin met his son with a flying kick that Ichigo avoided easily, with Isshin asking how many girls he thought were going to give him chocolate.

Ichigo just kicked him back.

* * *

Rukia smiled and laughed in her stupid, bubbly way. Ichigo, who was watching her ("Was not!" he later protested to a smirking Ishida) sighed as he saw a blushing girl hiding around the corner. He made a motion with his hand telling her to go away, and, red-faced, she ran off.

Tearing his eyes from Rukia, he forced himself back to class. But there was no way in hell he was going to miss seeing her give that third box of chocolates out. He had seen her give Ishida and Sado theirs; she had done it with him at her side. But the third was still sitting in her school bag.

Probably melting.

Sighing again, Ichigo dropped himself into his desk and raised an eyebrow as he watched a blushing Orihime give an even more red Ishida a box of chocolates.

Well, at least she hadn't made them herself.

Or . . . he hoped. For Ishida's sake.

Smiling to himself, he leaned back in his desk as he watched the rest of the students piling in. Keigo was crying happily because a girl had given him a box of chocolates, Ishida was still blushing at Orihime . . . and . . . Rukia was nowhere to be found. The teacher came in last, frowning at Rukia's empty seat, and threw an eraser at Ichigo, yelling at him to get his feet off of his desk.

After dropping his feet, Ichigo stuck his head in his hands and only half listened to the teacher.

Rukia came in about half-way through class.

"Why are you late, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia put on her fake smile.

"Sorry, Sensei! Family problems!"

The teacher seemed to accept this and let Rukia sit down without further comment.

Rukia took her seat next to Ichigo and smiled at him before turning her attention on the teacher Ichigo was doing his best to ignore. He already knew what she was talking about, so why listen? He knew all of William Shakespear's plays by heart; he didn't need to listen to some hopeless romantic teacher prattle on and on about Romeo and Juliet.

When the class was over, everyone stood up; it was lunch time.

Ichigo made a quick dash for the roof. He just wanted out of that stuffy building and to get into the fresh, if cold, February air. He smiled. He had made it halfway through school without any chocolates.

Yay for him.

As he was about to stick his straw into his juice packet, another one was suddenly thrust in front of his face. Sighing and rolling his eyes, which was becoming a daily routine, he stuck Rukia's straw in for her and then worked on his own. As he was taking a drink, she suddenly thrust something else in his face.

It was that_ damn_ chocolate box!

He spit his juice out, eyes wide as she kept holding it in front of him. She sighed and said,

"Take it, fool. It's for you."

Ichigo reached out and took the box, turning it around in his hands.

"Is it melted?"

She smirked and kicked him in the shin.

Anyone that was looking on at the scene would laugh. The girl beating up on the boy.

But as Ichigo hopped around in circles, he knew that the box pf probably melted chocolates meant a lot. It meant a lot to him, if no one else. And he was pretty sure it meant a lot to her.

And if she didn't know already how much it meant to him, on White Day, he would show her.

But maybe he wouldn't use chocolates . . .

* * *

Well, what do you think? Should I do a second one about White Day?

**Please Review!**


	15. Nov 30 — If Tomorrow Never Comes

I hope you like this one. It's not sad, but it's not funny. In between? I dunno. :D Please review if you like it! And even if you don't . . .

**Disclaimer: **I do now own Bleach or the characters!

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**If Tomorrow Never Comes**

Sometimes, I ask myself . . . what if tomorrow never comes? What if I die while fighting to protect the ones I love? What if something happens? Will there be anything left undone . . . unsaid?

I used to think no. My life was complete. I was a normal boy, having lost his mother at a young age, and if I died protecting my family, my little sisters and my friends, I wouldn't regret anything. I would have been complete knowing that they were safe, even if I wasn't.

But then _she_ came into my life. She freakin' jumped through my window, basically tied me up with some sort of binding spell, and then drew on my face. But she changed my world. She gave me the power I longer for. Yearned for, in order to protect the people I love. She gave me that power without a second thought for herself. She saw me in pain, unable to do anything as that stupid Hollow was trying to kill my sisters.

And she gave me _power_.

I protected my sisters, my father, and I even protected myself and that girl. She had said her name was Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki.

I wonder who in the hell spent such a pretty name on such a crazy girl.

But after she was taken, I had regrets. I told myself, _I can't die._ When I was near death, I told myself, _I need to live._ And when I saved her, I thought, _I have to protect her_.

Then she left me. I hope she couldn't see the pain in my eyes as she whispered those words to me. . . ._I'm staying _. . . It hurt.

And even though I had saved her, I couldn't die, I told myself. I still had something I needed to do. I still needed to tell her how I felt.

And she came back. She came back . . .

I didn't know what to do as I watcher her in the window, but she solved that problem for me by giving me a beating and hauling me out the window to fight a Hollow. She saved me again.

First, she gave me power. Then . . . she gave me the will to live and to keep fighting.

_The man that you have been in my heart, Ichigo, would do exactly that!_

I tried to hide the emotion on my face as I told her she was annoying. But she smiled; she knew I was happy to see her.

And I was.

And finally, I told her.

We were standing in the park, a single umbrella over our heads as the rain poured down. We were both covered in mud from our struggle over who got said umbrella. She had a smudge of dirt on her nose, and I reached out to wipe it off. I'm still not sure what took over me, but I leaned down and kissed her.

I was _so_ sure she was going to hit me or something . . . kick me . . . _kill_ me . . . but she didn't. She just kissed me back, her small hand dropping the umbrella into the mud as she pressed her palms to my face. Neither of us cared that we were soaked, or that we were covered in mud.

Then I broke the kiss. She gazed up into my eyes without saying a word, and I knew that I was going to have to be the one that made a move. I said gently,

"I love you."

She just laid her head on my chest and said, "I know."

It wasn't until months later, as we lay together in bed after making love for the first time, that she whispered the word back to me. I smiled and held her closer.

I had no regrets.

And if tomorrow never comes . . . I'm complete.

* * *

Well? What did you think? It actually came to me while re-watching a Bleach EP with a friend who is just beginning to like the show. It was the EP where Ishida fights that big lunk of a guy who has a liking for regrets. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you haven't seen/read far enough. :P

**Please Review!**


	16. Dec 1 — Pt II — White Day

Well, since I had _so many_ people asking for a second one, I decided to do one. Hence the name. :D Anyway, I hope you like this, and it's just a random bit of fluff that came up and bit me in the butt.

So I wrote it.

Enjoy and please don't forget to **Review**! Remember, it was harder for me to write this than it would be for you to review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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White Day

Ichigo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He then took a deep breath before walking into school.

Today was White Day. And he had forgotten the flowers he had bought for Rukia at home. Boy, was he gonna look stupid. All other boys were returning the gifts that they had gotten, and he didn't have anything to give to Rukia.

He sighed and watched as Ishida handed Orihime a small box, which turned out to be a necklace, and Ishida was redder than the red stone in the middle of the necklace.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Ishida was hopeless. But then again . . . he hadn't forgotten to return the gift he had gotten a month ago.

Sighing, Ichigo stuck his head in his hands and watched as his other classmates filed into the room. Rukia came last, and was immediately jumped upon By Keigo. She happily accepted his gift, though she had given him nothing on Valentine's Day, and walked over to sit next to Ichigo.

The teacher came in, and Ichigo concentrated more on watching Rukia doodle on her notepad than on the teacher.

Until she spoke up.

"Kurosaki!"

Ichigo jumped nearly two feet.

"Are you listening to _anything_ I'm saying?"

Ichigo wanted so badly to say that, no, he didn't care what she was saying, but instead, he didn't speak.

"Please, from now on, pay attention to me. You can stare at Kuchiki-san after school."

Ichigo turned red and everyone in the class snickered. Rukia glared at him. He shrugged and let his head fall on top of his desk.

Hard.

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After his first class, Ichigo walked out into the halls and stopped at his locker. He sighed again and hit his head into it. He for -freakin' - got Rukia's gift. Was she ever going to speak to him again?

Since Valentine's Day, their relationship had changed. Just a little; they weren't sucking each other's teeth out their mouths or anything, but they acted a little different and Ichigo was a little more careful what he called her. But just a little. They fought a little less, and when she had a nightmare, he would be a little kinder when she dropped herself in his bed for the night.

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo turned around to see Ishida pushing his glasses up further onto his nose.

"What do you want?" Ichigo asked, leaning up against his locker.

"Why didn't you return Kuchiki-san's gift?"

"You knew about that?" Ichigo asked, surprised. When Ishida didn't answer, he shrugged. Ichigo said, " I forgot it at home. Now I look like an idiot, right?"

Ishida didn't deny it. He just shrugged and walked off, pushing his glasses up further on his nose again.

Seriously . . . what was it with him and those glasses?

Ichigo sighed and hit his head against his locker again for good measure before walking to his next class. Not a minute after he had sat down, the bell rang and the room filled up. Ichigo continued ignoring the teachers until about lunch time. Then, he bounced up to the roof and sat down, pulling out the lunch that Yuzu had made for him.

He hadn't taken one bite when Rukia shoved her juice box into his face.

Rolling his eyes, he stuck the straw in.

The both ate in silence. Neither spoke, and neither made a move to make the other speak. That actually made Ichigo feel worse and if she had yelled at him. But then again, she probably didn't expect anything back, after what he had said about never returning gifts. But still . . . she hoped that she at least thought that much of him.

"Ichigo?"

"Hm?" Ichigo said, looking up from his lunch. His eyes met Rukia's, who currently had her legs crossed in front of her. She cocked her head to the side.

"Why does Ishida blush so much when Orihime speaks to him?"

"Huh. Didn't notice the speaking thing, but this morning when she was giving him a gift, he was as red as an apple."

They lapsed into silence again. After about ten minutes, Ichigo spoke up.

"Uh . . . you know, Rukia, I _did_ get you a present."

"Really?" she asked, looking at him as she sucked on her juice box. He nodded and turned away from her gaze from fear of turning into a blushing apple like Ishida.

"Yeah. But I kinda left it at home. Though I guess it would be better to give it to you there; we don't want anymore rumors running around," he said, stuffing the last bite off food into his mouth as he stood to his feet. Rukia stood up with him and, after finishing off her juice, followed him back into class.

Ichigo thought about what he was going to do all the way through the rest of the school day. He thought about the gift, and the gifts that he knew that Rukia had seen guys giving girls, and he really though he should have gotten her more than flowers.

Sighing, he pulled himself up from his desk after his last class, and after gathering all his books, he slung his bag over his shoulder and began walking out. Halfway down the hall, Rukia joined him and they walked in utter silence until they reached his house. Then, they parted for Rukia to jump through his window while he walked up the stairs after kicking his dad in the face.

When he entered the room, Rukia was sitting cross-legged on his bed and her elbows were perched on the window as she let the wind whip across her face.

He smiled and walked forward.

"Ichigo."

She had heard him . . . or felt his presence, or something. But he had thought that he had been quiet about it.

"Hey, Rukia."

He knew she was smiling, even though he couldn't see her.

"Uh . . . yeah, I have that gift for you," he said, reaching into his desk to fumble around. She turned around on his bed, unfolding her legs and walking over to stand behind him.

He noticed that, in the two minutes it had taken him to get up here, she had changed into a dark blue mini-skirt and a baby blue sweater. He finally clasped his fingers around the flowers, then turned to her, biting his lip as he handed them to her. She smiled and took them, wrapping her small, slim fingers around them.

"It's not much . . . but I wasn't really thinking on it until a few days ago . . . and I didn't have time to get anything else. I can-"

He was cut off, his eyes widening, as she pressed her lips to his. When she pulled back, he was still blinking madly.

"Thanks, Ichigo."

He just smiled like an idiot.

"You're welcome."

Rukia was about to walk back to her closet, but Ichigo finally sorted out his thoughts and grabbed her by the arm, pinning her to the wall as he kissed her. She was surprised, but soon let the surprise melt away and kissed him back.

He pulled back and smirked.

"You're not goin' anywhere. I still have a present for you."

And he kissed her again.

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Well, there it is. :D _(Points up)_ Did ya like it?

**Please Review!**


	17. Dec 2 — Because You Cried

This one came out of nowhere. Hope you like!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Because You Cried

Rukia sat on her bed, staring at the photo in her hands. It was a fuzzy, old shot, but she always kept it under her pillow because it was the only way she could remember _him_. She sometimes wished that she hadn't been so stupid . . . that she had been _so_ stupid. That she hadn't let him inside her heart. She hadn't let him know how she felt until the last second. And when he had asked her if she would take a picture with him so he could always remember her, him blushing like an idiot or course, she had said that they didn't need to because she wouldn't leave him.

But she had.

And now, as she sat in the dark, the only thing she had to remind her of him clasped tightly in her hands as she cried, she wished that she had taken a picture with him. She wished she had crushed her pride and did it, for him and for her.

The one picture she had was at least six-years-old now. In the picture, he was about fifteen or sixteen and he was smiling, something he barely ever did. The picture was black and white because the camera it came out of was cheap and didn't do color.

But she never let it go. It was always near her, because it was the only thing she had. The white edges were turning brown with age and the picture itself was slightly stained on the sides from her tears.

"Oi, Rukia!"

She gasped quietly as she heard the knock on her door. She knew the voice on the other side; it was her childhood friend, Renji.

Wiping away her tears, Rukia stood to her feet and walked over to the door, cracking it open slightly as she put the small 3x by 3x picture into her pocket.

"Yeah, what is it, Renji?"

Instead of answering her question, he said, "You're sad again. What's wrong?"

Rukia shook her head.

"Nothing. What did you come here for?"

She brushed his concern aside and reached her hand up to wipe the remainder of her tears away with the back of her hand. She doubted that Renji saw this action.

"I just wanted to ask if you would like to come to the training grounds with me, Kira and Hinamori," Renji said, though his heart was not in the question. Rukia smiled sadly.

"No thank you, Renji. I just . . . I don't feel like it."

He nodded, and after a brief, uncomfortable silence said,

"OK. But if you want to talk . . . you know I'm here, right?"

Rukia nodded and closed the door, sliding down the side and hitting the ground softly. She tried to hold back tears, all the while scolding herself.

_You're stronger than this! You can't break down crying every time you're reminded of him . . . it'll get you nowhere!_

Rukia stood shakily to her feet, and after putting the small picture back under her pillow, walked over to her window and jumped out, landing softly on the ground twenty feet below. She walked slowly across the grass, her bare feet being tickled by the cold, wet blades. But she barely noticed as she breathed in the fresh air.

She was almost never like this. This . . . this _emotional_. She usually could hold it all inside; keep her emotions to herself and keep her tears inside. But today . . . it was the anniversary of the day that he had told her that he loved her. It was the same day, April 31st, that she had said goodbye, that she had seen for him the last time, and that they had both shared their first kiss. And now, five years later . . .

Rukia didn't stop walking as she felt her tears come close to surfacing again. Dammit! She was stronger than this! She didn't have to cry every time that she thought about him!

Soon, she found herself at the small cliff that they always used to go to. It was indeed small; only about ten feet wide. You could only reach it by going through a large amount of wooded area. It was completely closed off by thick brush on the only side that wasn't dipping down to the roaring river below. Now, in the beginning spring, everything was green again and the birds were chirping as the water crashed upon the rocks below.

_"So, this is good-bye . . ."_

_He just smiled at her as he spoke. "Sorry, Rukia. This is probably the last time we'll be seeing each other. After this, I can't come back to the Soul Society . . . and you . . ."_

_He left the question open._

_"No. I can't come back to your world. This is where I belong."_

_He could see that she was close to tears, so he stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, letting her fall into his arms. She collapsed, finally letting herself cry as she despertly wanted to. After a few minutes, he pulled back a little, taking her left hand into his._

_"Look, see that scar on your hand? Do you remember how you got it?"_

_Rukia nodded. He continued,_

_"You recieved that scar the same day I received mine. I remember holding the knife, despertly not wanting to touch it to your skin . . . But you asked me to so I did it. Then you took the knife from me and did the same. Rukia, no matter where we are at . . . we share a bond because I was the one that touched that knife to your skin and you were the one that touched it to mine. I let my blood run into you as we touched out hands together that day. So wherever we are, think of me when you look at your hand. Alright?"_

_She nodded numbly, pressing her hand to his and spreading out her small fingers. He smiled back and curled his larger hand around hers, pulling her back into his arms. She didn't cry anymore, for her tears were all gone. He pulled back again, but instead of walking away, he reached up and placed his palm on her face, his rough fingers dancing on her soft skin._

_"I love you, Rukia."_

_Then, he gently planted his lips on hers, not caring that half of Soul Society was watching. She didn't care either, as she reached up and placed her hand over his, kissing him back. When he finally pulled back, he smiled sadly. She whispered,_

_"I love you, too, Ichigo. And . . . Good-bye."_

_He kissed her again before pulling out of her embrace and walking away toward the gate. She watched him, trying desperately not to cry as he turned and disappeared into the shadows._

_He was gone._

Rukia looked down at her hand, spreading apart her fingers as she surveyed the scar. It was on her palm, and took the shape of a Phoenix. Ichigo had carved it gently and quickly, trying his best not to hurt her. But it had hurt. And when he was done, he kissed her palm before holding her hand tightly in his.

"Is this . . . is this _really_ my home?"

She didn't know anymore. She didn't know anything anymore. She just knew that she missed him and that she loved him. And that she wanted to see him again . . . even if was just for a small time.

Standing from where she had sat down on a rock, she began the walk through the woods and to the mansion again. But before she came to the door, Renji stepped out on the path in front of her.

"Hey, Rukia."

She looked up, smiling a small, tired smile.

"Hi, Renji. Um . . . what are you doing?"

"Look, Rukia. I've been watching you for a while now, and you seem down right miserable. Hell, if you want to go see that reckless, carrot-topped idiot, go and see him. I'll cover for you, alright? Just come back this time."

Rukia blinked several times, letting what Renji had just said sink in.

"But . . . I-I . . ."

"Shut up. I know you love him . . . so stop denying yourself happiness. _Go_."

Rukia smiled brightly, hugging Renji. He blushed a little before reaching down and placing his hand on her head.

"Come on, thank me later. Now, you should go. I can open the gate for you. And I can't cover for you forever. If you decide to stay on Earth, let me know so I don't turn myself into an idiot, right?"

Rukia nodded again.

Renji watched her happily bounce along as they walked together to a small spot where he could open the gate for her without them being seen. He smiled sadly to himself. Yeah . . . he would help her. God knows how she had broken his heart . . . but he would heal with time. But what she needed was to be with the man she loved . . . and if her happiness meant him being in pain, he would give her happiness in a second.

As he opened the gate and watched her walk through, he smiled. She waved and called back,

"Thanks Renji! I'll be back."

And then she was gone.

* * *

She walked along slowly to where she knew Ichigo was at. She could feel his spirit pressure. It was huge, and he still wasn't hiding it. She could feel it again . . . she smiled as she wrapped herself in the wonderful feeling of the reiatsu she thought was gone forever.

Still smiling, she quickened her pace. She stopped outside of the house she had gotten so used to so many years ago. The door was open, and the light inside was bathing the grass in shadows.

It was night here . . .

But then, she heard his voice. It was as soft and kind as ever, and as he stepped in front of the door, with his back turned to her, she gasped and hid in the shadows. He turned around and in his arms sat a small boy, probably about three. Her heart clenched at the sight of the little child. He had orange/red hair and was leaning on Ichigo like he knew him well.

"Hey, squirt, when is your mommy gonna be home?"

He shrugged in Ichigo's arms and looked up at him, smiling. He took his fingers out of his mouth and patted Ichigo's face, leaving small, slime marks on his cheek.

When Ichigo reached up to wipe away the slime, the little boy looked at his hand and asked,

"What that?"

"Huh?" Ichigo asked, looking down at his hand.

"Sar," the little boy said, trying to pronounce 'scar'.

Ichigo smiled softly.

"It's a bond."

"Bond?"

"Yeah, Ishii, it's a bond. It was given to me by someone I love dearly."

"Like mommy?"

Rukia felt her heart break as she walked out of the darkness beside the house. Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise as he saw her form dart away from the clinic. He quickly put the child down on the ground and yelled,

"Dad! Watch Ishii for a second!"

Then he ran out the door, not stopping to put shoes on or even grab a jacket to go over his pajama shirt. He ran after Rukia, his feet hitting onto the hard, concrete ground as he tried desperately to catch up.

"Wait! Rukia, wait!"

When he finally caught up to her, he grabbed her arm. She tried to wrench it out of his grip, but he had gotten stronger as well as taller.

"Let me go," she said, still trying to break free as tears rolled fast down her face. "Let me go, let me go, let me go . . ." But her protests got weaker and weaker every time she whispered those three words. Ichigo pulled her, sobbing and shaking, into his arms. He held her tight as she cried, not wanting to let go as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was wet, as it had suddenly started raining as it had threatened to all day.

"Rukia . . . God, I thought you were never coming back."

She looked up into his eyes, her own still filled with tears.

"That little . . . the little b-boy . . . who is he?"

"He's . . . " Ichigo began, but stopped when he saw the look on Rukia's face. It dawned on him. "Oh, no, Rukia . . . did you think he was . . . my _son_?"

She nodded, not even trying to form coherent words around her sobs. Ichigo shook his head.

"No. God, no. He's Orihime and Ishida's son, Ishii. I was just babysitting him while they went to the doctor. See, Orihime's pregnant again."

"I'm s-sorry, Ichigo. I just thought that . . ."

Ichigo smiled as he put a finger to her lips.

"No more thinking, OK?"

She nodded, and his grip on her hand relaxed. He reached up to wipe her tears away, then pulled her into his arms again. Not thinking of getting loose this time, she let herself return the embrace, ler small arms reaching around his body as he pulled her closer to him.

She smiled as she breathed in his scent. He still smelled the same. After five years, he still smelled the same. . . he looked the same, too. Still scowling, still tall, and God was he tall, and he still had that same, bright orange hair.

"How come you didn't move on?" Rukia asked, her face still pressed firmly to his chest.

"Because I love you, Rukia. I would have waited until the end of the Earth for you. I still will. I'll wait until I die, even, if I have to. But I love you, and I won't ever betray you. I've only ever kissed one girl, and that's you. And you're the only girl I'll ever kiss again," he said, smiling gently as he leaned down to capture her lips with his, as if to prove a point.

She moaned quietly, her hands moving up to tangle themselves in her hair.

When he pulled back, she protested with another moan. He smiled as he placed his hand on hers, holding it tightly.

"When I gave you this scar, as I wiped away your tears, it was because you cried that I realized that I loved you and would do anything for you. Even die for you," he said softly, mumbling the words as he kissed her again.

She smiled into the kiss, her hand still gripped tightly in his.

_Because you smiled . . . Because you cried . . . I love you . . . _

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What did you think? Good, bad, ugly?

**Please Review!**


	18. Dec 3 — I'm Here

Again, I'm not sure where this came from. But I wrote it, I liked it, and I posted it. :D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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I'm Here

Rukia whimpered slightly as she turned around in her sleep, pulling her blanket closer.

Ichigo, who was sitting on his desk, watching as she tossed and turned in his bed, put his pencil down and walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching out to place his hand on hers. Her small hands were clenching the blanket tightly and her face was filled with pain as she slept.

"Come on, Rukia. I'm here," he said gently, mumbling the words as he ran his fingers over her knuckles. She seemed to calm down a little, but still whimpered as she turned around again, laying her head on his thigh. His eyes widened for a second before he removed his hand from hers and reached over, brushing his fingers gently through her hair.

"Ichi . . . go . . ." she mumbled quietly, her mouth forming the words as she turned around again; her head was now resting on top of his hand as she reached her own hands up to clasp his under her hair.

"Shh . . . I'm here."

He didn't know why he said the words, but he saw her calm down, and was glad that his pressence had been able to calm her down.

He smiled.

And there was no way in hell that he would let anyone see him being so mushy about a girl.

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Well, that wa short, hopefully sweat . . . and I like candy. ;P

**Please Review!**


	19. Dec 4 — Pt I — Three Words

This came to me while I was going through my sisters' pictures, trying to find one of me they took for blackmail a few years back. I didn't find it, but I did write this!

This is supposed to be placed when Ichigo left to train with the Vizard. Manga readers only will know about, it but it has NO spoilers, so ALL can read! _(pokes)_.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Three Words

"Aww! How cute!"

The loud, bubbly outburst, and from _Rukia_, no less had Renji running over to see what she was oogling about. When he dropped onto the ground right outside of Ichigo's closet and stared at the photograph in her hand, he expected anything, _anything_, except this. In her hands was a small, color picture of a beautiful woman holding a small baby.

A carrot-topped baby.

Said baby was appearently screaming, loudly in the picture because the man standing behind he woman was holding his ears, tears streaming down his face. It was Isshin; no big surprise there.

"Geez . . . is that _Ichigo_?" Renji asked, taking the picture out of her hands and turning it upside down, as if that would somehow show him some hidden secret within. Rukia snorted, something he didn't think she was capable of, and took the picture back, sticking in the now empty shoe box as she looked at the next picture of the large stack in her hands.

"Is he naked?"

That was the only comment the next picture recieved. Renji fell on the floor, roaring with laughter, as Rukia blushed a deeper shade of red than an apple and stuck the picture hurridely back into the box. The next one was of Ichigo sucking his feet. He was dressed in a bunny costume ("Awww! He's so cute!" Rukia squealed), his hair was a mess and he looked like he had just woken up.

Now, _that_ would make wonderful blackmail within the Soul Society. The Orange-haired Shinigami with a sword as big as he was tall . . . sucking his feet.

Renji said such, and earned a slap from Rukia as she tucked the picture inside her pocket. The next picture was Ichigo sleeping; he had drool sliding down his face.

"I wonder how old he was here," Rukia mused, turning the picture around to see careful handwriting that clearly said _"Ichigo Kurosaki. Three months old. Date: 1-10-1990"_

"What's the next one?" Renji asked, reaching over to move the picture out of her hands to see the one under it. They both burst out laughing when they saw it. In the picture, Ichigo was naked in the bath, though covered in bubbles, and was appearently _pissed_. He was waving his hands wildely and was showering the whole room in bubbles. His mother, Masaki, was shielding her face while still holding his small body up in the water.

"That's cute. He still looks the same. But he's bigger now. . ." Renji said, raising an eyebrow. He reached over and took the picture off of the top, gasping when he saw the next one. He quickly removed it from Rukia's sight and flipped it over. On the back, all it said was "1-15-1991 — Baby Ichigo just found out he was a boy".

"Lemme see it," Rukia whined, trying to peek under the picture. Renji shook his head, laying it flat down on the floor. Rukia pretended to give up, but the second that his hand left the picture, Rukia lunged for it and grabbed it, sticking her foot in Renji's face as she stared at the picture.

Gaping like a fish.

Ichigo had, indeed, found out he was a boy. He was sitting up on his own, completely naked, playing with his . . . erm . . . _Boy parts._

Rukia blushed and shoved it away, sticking it inside the shoebox without another work.

Renji was roaring with laughter again.

"Told you not to look at it."

"Shut up!" Rukia snapped, her face still completely red as she hurridely looked at the next picture. It was of Ichigo, a little older, standing up, holding onto his mother's skirt. It was the first time he was walking, the back of the picture said, and he had the most adorable look on his face as he tried to put one foot in front of the other. Rukia smiled, the blush leaving her face as she let her fingers linger over the picture for a second before putting it, too, inside the shoebox.

"Next," Renji said, moving her hand out of the way to see the picture.

He smiled at it, too. Ichigo was probably about one and a half in the picture and he was sitting inside a small, retractable plastic ball. It was for babies to play around in, but Ichigo was crying his eyes out, his hands grabbing the plastic as he tried to climb out. He was wearing a white T-shirt under jean overalls and his tiny feet were bare.

"That's so cute," Rukia said, placing the picture gently inside with the others. The next picture, of which there were five left, surprised both of them. Rukia gasped quietly and Renji raised his eyebrows, reaching out to grab the picture. Rukia held it back, though, her eyes glued to it.

"I thought . . ."

Her hand lingered over the picture as she stared at it. Renji's mouth was dry.

It was a picture that hadn't been taken years and years ago; it was of Ichigo and Rukia, not long ago, actually. They were standing on the beach, Ichigo wearing black swimming shorts with flames climbing up the sides, and Rukia in a rather reveiling, sky blue bikini. She was leaning backwards on him while he had his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder. He was smiling like an idiot and she was blushing slightly, but her hand rested over his on her stomach. The background was just of the still, calm water gently lapping the shore.

"I-I . . . I thought that I lost this . . ." Rukia said gently, the picture still grasped tightly in her hand. Renji's mouth was hanging open as he stared at the picture, which had prefectly mirrored a tender moment in Ichigo and Rukia's relationship.

Under the first picture was a second; it was of Rukia sitting in Ichigo's lap in the park. The wind had been blowing when the picture was taken because Rukia's thin, pink dress was blowing in the wind, as was her hair. Ichigo was leaning forward, his hands crossed in front of her, resting in her lap and his chin was resting on her shoulder again.

The third was of then in the kicthen, having been helping Yuzu make cookies, but they had gotten into a flour fight, or _something_ because they were both covered in flour, but they were laughing and smiling happily.

The forth was them sleeping. It was simple. Ichigo was only wearing pajama pants and Rukia was dressed in her new pink pajamas with strawberries on them.

The fifth was what surprised Renji so much that he reached over and ripped it out of Rukia's grasp.

It was Ichigo and Rukia, standing inside one of the flowing fountains in the park. They were both soaked. The water was falling down on their heads, but appearently they didn't care because Ichigo had his hands pressed firmly to Rukia's waist and she had her hands tangled in his hair as they kissed deeply.

When his grip on the picture loosened, Rukia took it back, tenderly fingering the small rip that Renji had created on the edge of the picture. She turned it around and her violet eyes scanned the words on the back of the picture quickly. They were sloppy and fastly written in Ichigo's handwriting.

_"I love her."_

The three simple words brought tears to Rukia's eyes. She held the picture to her chest as she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

"I remember that," she began, the tears still threatening to come, anyway. "He tripped and fell into the water, and when I laughed at him, he pulled me in with him. I guess we landed wrong, because the next thing I knew he was kissing me. I guess . . . I guess he just didn't want to tell me how he felt . . . because he never told me . . . But now he's gone again. I-I . . . I want him to come home . . ."

_Home . . ._

The tears fell from her eyes and she clutched the picture to her chest. Dropping everything else, she stood to her feet and ran out of the room, her sobs echoing through the halls.

Renji stood, too, putting everything back inside the box except the pictures of Ichigo and Rukia; He set those down on her bed in the closet.

"Ichigo . . . you idiot. You had better come back. I swear . . . if you hurt her anymore . . . I'll kill you," he whispered, really to no one, but his voice drifted out the window and into the windy, beautiful Autumn day. "Come back. Come back . . . and tell her you love her."

Three simple words had broken a perfect moment between friends. Three simple words had made a strong girl cry, and three simple words had changed her world.

. . . _I love her . . ._

* * *

Hmm . . . well, that sucked.

**Please Review!**


	20. Dec 5 — Pt II — Just to Say I Love Ya

This is the continuation to **Three Words**. So many people wanted it . . . so . . . I wrote it! Wow! _Kicks herself. _

I'm done. But please review! I hope this one is as good as the last!

**If you haven't read the previous one . . . scat until you have!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach of the characters.

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Just to Say I Love Ya

Ichigo was breathing deeply as he walked back inside his room. He had just finished training for that day, and was completely tired. He had gained control of his Hollow already . . . why did he have to keep training? He could control it for eleven seconds . . . that was longer than he needed to beat anyone.

Even Grimmjaw; and he was sure as hell going to kill that man. After he had nearly killed Rukia . . .

Ichigo sighed and lay down on his make-shift bed, trying to force those thoughts out of his head. But the pain, anger, sadness and determination to kill the man who had hurt her so badly . . . they kept assaulting his senses, and he wanted nothing more than to block those out and focus on his training.

But . . . in reality, that was what made him want to train in the first place; he wanted to get stronger. He wanted to protect the people he loved.

_Rukia . . ._

Ichigo touch a finger to his lips, remembering when hers would be on his, and the _different_ feelings it would bring. It brought happiness, pleasure, and . . . he felt complete.

He smiled when he thought of what she would be doing now. Maybe drawing . . . maybe fighting a hollow . . . maybe with her friends, but he knew that, wherever she was, she would probably be worrying about him, like she never failed to do. She was probably pacing or something, or maybe she didn't care anymore.

But he had been gone for nearly three weeks now. She had probably forgotten about him.

He hoped not.

Sighing again, he rolled over onto his side and began digging through his bag. He frowned when he couldn't find the picture he was looking for. Just as he was about to give up looking for it, someone appeared in his doorway. It was that annoying girl that he had been fighting. She was smirking and holding the picture he had been looking for.

"Give me that, brat!" Ichigo yelled, lunging for the picture. Hiyori stepped away, holding the picture right out of reach.

"I bet that was your first kiss, huh?" she asked; Ichigo growled. "Kissing in a waterfall. Huh; romantic. Do ya love her?"

Ichigo finally grabbed the picture out of her grasp. It was black and white, not like the one he had back home, but it was what he had on hand, and he knew that if he was going to be gone for a while, he wanted something to remember her face by.

"Scat, dumbass," he yelled, kicking her out of the room. She walked off, still smirking, as Ichigo sat down on the floor and ran his fingers over Rukia's face.

What was he doing? He had accomplished what he had come her for, so why the hell didn't he go back home? He wanted to; he wanted to see his dad again, and kick him, and he wanted to see his sisters and friends . . .

And he wanted to see _her_.

Standing to his feet, Ichigo threw all of his belongings into his bag and walked right out of the door, not stopping when Hiyori yelled at him.

He needed to get out of here, _now_.

* * *

She was still running. She had left Ichigo's house because everything inside of it reminded her of him. And those pictures . . . those words . . .

Rukia stopped running when she reached the park. She collapsed onto the ground, her dress spreading out beneath her. Wiping away her tears, she looked up into the sky. It was clear; not a cloud in sight.

Birds flew overhead and kids ran around, laughing and giggling. One stopped beside her.

"Miss? Are you crying?" he asked.

Rukia smiled and wiped away her tears. The child, a small boy with bright blond hair, looked a lot like Ichigo, and he made her smile.

"Yeah, sweetie. I am."

"Are you sad?" he asked, sitting down on the grass beside her. Rukia reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Yes, I'm sad."

"Oh." The child didn't speak for a second. "My name's Iya, what's yours?"

"I'm Rukia. Pleased to meet you," she said, reaching out her hand shaking his tiny one in hers. He smiled a toothless smile and then pointed to his mouth, saying,

"I lost a tooth. Have you ever lost a tooth?"

Rukia nodded.

"I've lost all my teeth."

"Oh."

The little boy looked dissapointed, so Rukia reached over and gave him a brief hug.

"You'll grow up big and lose all your teeth, too. By the way Iya . . . where are your parents?"

Iya seemed to think for a second, then shrugged.

"Mommy left me here with my friends. Daddy's gone. He left long time ago; he won't come back. Did someone leave you? Is that why you're sad?" he asked, looking up at her with bright, chocolate brown eyes. Rukia nodded, realizing just how much little kids can see in other people.

"Yeah, but I'm back."

Rukia jumped at the voice and turned around quickly, her shocked eyes traveling up to meet Ichigo's smiling gaze. He was holding something, and finally reached it out to her; she took it. Then, she jumped to her feet and hugged him tightly before clobbering him over the head.

Ichigo smiled at the little boy as he bounced off, pulling on one of his teeth as he danced barefoot in the grass.

"I missed you," Rukia said, chocking back a sob.

"I missed you, too," Ichigo said, finally hugging her back and resting his chin on her head.

"I saw the picture," Rukia said simply, not moving her eyes as she put her head on his chest.

"What picture?" Ichigo asked, kissing her hair as he ran his hands up and down her back.

"Our first kiss," Rukia replied, sighing deeply as she held it back out to Ichigo. "I saw the colored one. And what you said on the back."

"And?" Ichigo asked, nervousness in his voice. Rukia smiled and took her head away from his chest, reaching up and kissing him gently on the lips.

"I-I mean . . . did _you _mean it?" she asked as he placed his hands on her waist and kissed her back. The kiss was slow and passionate, and when Ichigo pulled back, he said,

"Yeah. I love ya."

"I love you, too," she said, kissing him again before laying her head on his chest. He grinned like an idiot. "By the way, why did you suddenly come back?" Her words were slightly muffled by his shirt. "Not that I mind . . . I want you back. . . forever."

"Just to say I love ya. That's why I came back. I finished what I wanted to finish, so now I'm back for good. I'll never leave you again."

"Thank you."

And, as they held each other, not speaking again and not moving, Ichigo knew it was all worth it.

The beautiful silence was broken when Rukia suddenly said,

"By the way, a bunny costume and sucking your feet don't fit you. Renji might blackmail."

Ichigo attacked Rukia playfully, making her fall the the ground. This soon started a tickle war, and the red-headed man hiding behind a tree smiled. Rukia was winning, as Ichigo usually let her, and soon they were laughing while Ichigo was nursing a very sore head.

"Damn. He actually did it," Renji sighed. "I don't get to kill 'em."

* * *

Feel free to tell me what I did wrong! This one was bad, wasn't it? I wrote it three different times, but I couldn't get it _just _right. Darn it.I hope it didn't suck too badly!

Should I do another one where Renji _actually_ blackmails Ichigo? Hmm?"

**Please Review!**


	21. Dec 6 — Daddy Pt IX — Babies

**Sorry!** I was going to do the next story where Renji blackmails Ichigo . . . but I was having so much fun writing it, I couldn't cut myself off before it was time to put a new story up, and I had this already mostly typed out, so I finished it . . .

The third part will be out within a week!

Well, here is another, entirely crazy part of the **Daddy Series**. What do you think? **Also, people asked me to stop warping the children's speach. I didn't. Bad Me. **If you care that much, then you don't have to read this, though.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Daddy Pt. IX — Babies

"Mommy! You aren't fat anymore!" Masaki cried in wonder, staring at her mother's stomach. Rukia smiled weakly as Ichigo chuckled.

Rukia was sitting on the clinic bed, a tiny baby boy in her arms. Ichigo was sitting beside her on the bed, holding the second child. The doctor had been wrong; it wasn't a girl . . . it had been twins!

Masaki was kneeling on her knees in her red, Christmas jumper while Kaien was jumping up and down, trying to look at the babies, though failing. He finally gripped the blanket that was laying over Rukia's knees and used it to crawl up beside his parents. Isshin came in a second later, stripping off his gloves from another paitent.

"Do you have names picked out?" he asked, smiling at the small family.

Ichigo said, "Atsushi. It means 'Compassionate Warrior'. I want to name him Atsushi Byakuya."

Rukia turned around sharply, staring at him like he was nuts.

"Last time I mentioned naming a boy after my brother, you hit your head on the wall several times," she said, the surprise still clearly showing on her face.

"Yeah . . . well, you let me name Masaki after my mom, soo . . ."

He trailed off and scratched his head, shrugging. Rukia smiled and leaned her head on his arm.

"Thank you, Ichigo."

"Whatever," he said, though he was still smiling. "What about her?" he asked, pointing to the second, smaller, baby girl.

"I want to name her Aya. Since you gave Atsushi my brother's name, would you like to give her her middle name?" Rukia asked, sighing happily as the little girl cooed softly.

"Yeah. How about Rukia? Aya Rukia Kurosaki . . ."

Rukia beamed.

Isshin broke in. "Ah! So, Atsushi Byakuya Kurosaki and Aya Rukia Kurosaki. Beautiful!"

He bounced out of the room to finish filling out the birth certificates and Ichigo reached over with his free hand to haul Masaki into his lap. She smiled as she bounced up and down, looking at the little girl in Ichigo's arms.

"I wike ma sister!" she said happily, her violet eyes shinning as she reached out to touch her hand to the baby's soft skin. Ichigo smiled. "She pwetty!"

Ichigo smiled and nodded. He had to agree. Aya was a little on the small side, but her hair was a dark, soft black color with orange streaks in it, something that Ichigo had questioned Isshin throughly about. Her brother, Atsushi, had the exact opposite hair. He had orange hair with black streaks. They both had the same eyes, though; Ice blue.

"Kaien, do you want to hold Atsushi?" Rukia asked. Kaien nodded happily, bouncing over to Rukia and sitting on her other side. She lifted him into her lap and gently placed Atsushi in his arms, supporting his head as Kaien glued his eyes on his baby brother. Ichigo took Masaki off of his lap and laid her down beside Rukia before showing the little girl how to hold the baby. Rukia helped her while Ichigo pulled out his camera and snapped a few pictures.

"Daddy? Can I take Aya to school wiff me for show and tell?"

Rukia laughed as Ichigo picked both little girls back up into his arms.

"Sorry, Masaki. You'll have to bring something else, OK?"

She pouted, then nodded.

"And guess what? I be six like Kaien!"

Kaien stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'm gonna be seven soon, though," he said, his attention drifting from the baby in his arms. Rukia leaned over and took Atsushi back from him before he dropped him.

Just then, Isshin burst through the door.

"Inoue-san and Ishida-kun are here!" he yelled in a sing-song voice. Rukia smiled as Ishida and Inoue were shown into the room by Ichigo's manic dad. In Inoue's arms was laying her and Ishida's two-month-old baby girl, Tye Akria. Inoue bounced happily over, trying to look at the babies. Ishida walked calmly over to Ichigo, who was now holding Aya again.

"So . . . twins, huh, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Yup. Life is gonna be hell in just a few weeks."

Ishida smirked. Then they both turned to see the mothers cooing over the babies. Inoue suddenly shouted,

"Hey, when they grow up, Atsushi and Tye can get married!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

Yeah, and _he _would walk on the moon.

* * *

"Rukia, where are the diapers!" Ichigo yelled, trying to make his voice heard over the loud screaming of Aya. God, did she have an impressive set of lungs.

"Um, they're in the closet!"

"What the hell are they doing in there?" Ichigo yelled back, dashing over to the closet and taking the diapers out. Rukia didn't answer him and Ichigo sighed, dropping Aya's soiled diaper in the hamper before cleaning her up and fastening the clean diaper on her small bottom. He then stripped her of her wet clothes and dressed her in a soft, pink fuzzy. She was still screaming when Ichigo lifted her into his arms and walked out into the living room to find Kaien laying on his stomach on the floor, one hand under his chin and using the other hand to flash his fingers in front of Atsushi's face before quickly moving them away. Atsushi would just follow the fingers with his eyes, because he couldn't move much yet as he was only five weeks old.

"Hey, how is your baby brother doing?" Ichigo asked, walking over and sitting on the floor beside Kaien.

"He's good! Daddy, how come he can't walk and stuff like me and Masaki?"

Ichigo smiled.

"He's a baby. You don't remember Masaki as a baby, do you?"

Kaien shook his head.

"She's always been able to walk! Me, too!"

Ichigo shook his head, gently rocking Aya back and forth in his arms.

"Nope. You were once just as small as Atsushi. Believe it or not, you once couldn't walk or talk, either."

"Really?"

Kaien's eyes were glowing happily as he sat up, turning to Ichigo, but careful not to hit the baby which was currently laying on the floor on his soft, blue baby blanket.

"Yep."

"Oh. Well . . . did I stink like him, too?"

Ichigo groaned. Another diaper to change.

It was worse than then Kaien and Masaki were babies; at least they had almost a year between them. Almost. But still . . . Kaien was sleeping through the night when Masaki would be up for midnight feedings. But Aya and Atsushi were up at different times, which was worse; Aya would be up at nine, midnight, three and six, whereas Atsushi would be up at ten, one, four and seven.

And that was why Ichigo took his vacation time from work. He had two months off, and Rukia was basically worshiping him for it; taking care of the two babies at once was a nightmare. At least Kaien and Masaki said that they wanted to stay in public school for the time being; Rukia wouldn't have been able to handle teaching them, too.

"Oi, Rukia! Would you get the phone?" Ichigo called, walking into the nursery with Atsushi in his arms as he heard the phone ringing. He had left Aya with Kaien, telling him to be super careful.

He didn't hear a response from Rukia, but he did hear her talking into the phone.

"Hello?"

He didn't hear anything else, however, because Atsushi began screaming at that point.

When he was finished cleaning him up, Ichigo walked back into the living room to find Masaki with Kaien, waving her hands in front of Aya, too. They looked so funny, but it was cute.

"Daddy! Guess what? Masaki says that she saw a baby in school once!"

Masaki nodded happily.

"I saw him with Ryo. His mommy has a baby, too! And I've seen lots of babies before, I just never seen 'em up close," she said, her eyes glowing as she began jumping up and down.

"Masaki! Don't jump; Aya's on the floor," Ichigo said, worry clouding over his face as Masaki suddenly dropped down, several feet from her sister.

"Hey, daddy, was I a baby, too?" Masaki asked.

Ichigo nodded.

"Yup."

"Daddy, where to babies come from?" Maski asked, scrunching her face up in concentration.

Oh, boy.

This was really Rukia's specialty, but she was one the phone with Inoue, he guessed, because they were talking about Tye.

"Well . . ." Ichigo began, but he was cut off by Kaien.

"Aya and Atsushi were inside of mommy," he said, nodding his head happily as he smiled.

"How did they get out?"

"I dunno. Maybe they walked out."

"They can't walk!" Masaki protested.

Ichigo sighed _loudly_. He decided to let Masaki and Kaien talk it out amongst themselves, because eventually they would come up with the right answer.

Or not.

"Did they come from an egg? Like a chicken?" Masaki asked her brother, believing that he knew the right answer.

"Nah. They came from the doctor."

Ichigo coughed, his eyebrows leaving their scowling position to climb high on his head. He watched Masaki and Kaien talk for a while more.

"Did I come from the doctor? How did I get inside of mommy if I came from the doctor? Is the doctor my daddy?"

Ichigo jumped in.

"Let me explain, OK?"

Both the kids nodded, turning happily to him as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well . . . uh . . ."

Or, maybe he _wouldn't_ explain it. But their guessing was getting _way_ out of hand, and if the doctor really was Masaki's dad, Ichigo was going to go strangle him.

"You were created as a tiny, itty bitty baby from both me and mommy."

"How?"

Oh, boy _again_.

"I'll tell you when you're older. But you were both created special from me and mommy and you grew inside of mommy for nine months. Well, Kaien, you grew for only eight, but you were still special. When you were first created, you were too small to even see. _Way_ too small."

Kaien and Masaki's eyes grew wide as they listened intently to their daddy.

"We were thats small? We couldn't even be seen?" Kaien asked in wonder.

"Nope. You were _that_ small. Four weeks after you were created, your heart started beating. You were a baby, not perfectly formed, and very, very small, but you were a baby, just like Aya and Atsushi. Then, when you were big enough to be born, daddy took mommy to the hospital and she gave birth to the baby that grew into you two."

"Wow! But my heart wasn't beating until I was four weeks?" Kaien asked, placing his hand over his chest to feel his heart.

"Nope. But you were still a baby, just not breathing yet. Anymore questions?"

Masaki waved her hand frantically around in the air. Ichigo smiled.

"Yes?"

"How come I couldn't grow inside of you, daddy? Why mommy?"

Ichigo laughed.

"Dunno, sweetie. That's just how things work. When you grow up big like mommy and get married, you can have babies, too."

"Can I?" Kaien asked.

"Nope. Your wife will have the babies."

Kaien pouted.

* * *

After dinner that night, Rukia and Ichigo were laying in bed. It was midnight, and Aya and Atsushi had yet to start crying. Rukia and Ichigo had both awoken automatically about ten minutes before and were flinching everytime they head a sound come through the baby monitor. Most of the sounds were just the babies moving around in their cribs, though.

"Ichigo," Rukia muttered, moving her face from his chest. "Why was Kaien pouting at dinner today?"

Ichigo smiled and wrapped his arms around her tighter. He said, "He was pouting because I told him he couldn't have a baby when he asked if he could, like you."

Rukia laughed. Ichigo smirked and buried his head in her shoulder, breathing in deeply of her scent as he kissed her soft skin.

"Hey, Rukia . . . the doctor isn't the father of Masaki is he?"

Rukia playfully punched him.

"Nope. Because you're the only man I've ever been with. And I clearly remember the night she was conceived."

Ichigo smirked and kissed her just as Aya's small cry filtered through the baby monitor.

* * *

Well, whatcha think? Hmm? _(pokes Reviewers . . . and readers . . . and aliens . . .)_

**Please Review!**


	22. Dec 7 — 'Cause I Love Ya

Well, I have no idea . . . at all . . . ever . . . where this came from.

**_It is AU!_**

An on that note, I will explain a little. This is my little AU story about what could have happened when Ichigo went after Rukia the night she was taken from Earth by Byakuya and Renji. 'Round chapter 70 - something in the Manga and EP 15 - something in the Anime.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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'Cause I Love Ya

"Leave her the hell alone!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing sword as he ran, blood sliding down the side of his face as he thrust the Zanpaktou forward. It met with the other Zanpaktou, clashing hard and forcing Ichigo backward. His feet gave out under him and he slid to the ground, hard. His head met the concrete, but he jumped back up in seconds, determination written clearly on his face as he ran forward again.

A soft, scared voice stopped him.

"P-Please . . . Ichigo, no, not for me . . ."

He turned around briefly to look at her. She was on her knees on the ground, her right arm clutching her left shoulder. Her hair was wet and pressed tightly against her pale face. She looked up, her violet eyes meeting his.

"Please, not for me."

"Why the hell not!?" Ichigo yelled, blocking another attack from his opponent.

"Don't throw your life away for me. It's not worth it. Please, don't die . . . for me . . ."

She began crying, which only served to make Ichigo even more angry. His brown eyes flashed with anger as e charged toward Renji again, their swords meeting in the middle of the street, rain falling down upon them as she cried.

"If I did die . . . I wouldn't have thrown my life away for nothin', stupid!" he yelled, not meeting her eyes as he was forced backward in the street again.

She looked up sharply as his Zanpaktou made contact with Renji's.

"Ichigo!"

He didn't answer her. Instead, he put more force into his attack and thrust his Zanpaktou into the other man's body. The red-head slumped forward, leaning on his sword for support. Blood was pouring everywhere, mixing with the rain and sliding down the street toward her.

"Why . . . why must blood be shed for my sake!" she yelled, her violet eyes blinking away tears as fast as they came.

She looked down for only a second, then he was at her side, his hand under her chin to lift her face up to meet his.

"I'll protect you, no matter what, Rukia."

And then he was gone as quickly as he was there. She looked up in surprise to see the gate open again.

"I-Ichi . . . go . . ."

He was standing in the middle of the street, blood pouring from his wounds as he breathed in deeply. He looked over and smirked at her, reaching a hand up to wipe blood from his forehead. Rukia jumped up from her spot on the ground, running over, placing her hands on his chest.

"No! Please, no more fighting!"

"Let me go, Rukia!"

"No!"

Rukia gasped in surprise as he began falling limp onto her. She helped him to the ground, laying him down on the hard concrete.

"Ichigo . . . why, why did you have to bleed for me?"

And before he brother walked over and took her firmly by the arm to haul her and his injured vice-captain through the gate, Ichigo muttered,

"'Cause I love ya . . ."

* * *

Well, what was utterly cheesy. But hey, I'm the master of such. :P

**Please Review!**


	23. Dec 8 — Daddy Pt X — Birthdays

Well, this one has a lot more of the characters than the last. Lemme see . . . it has Inoue, Ishida and Tye, and it had Byakuya and Renji, and a lot of kids I don't care to name now. ;D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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Daddy Pt. X — Birthdays

"Yo, Rukia! Ishida and Inoue are here, is that everyone?" Ichigo called from the kitchen, holding a crying Aya in his arms. He groaned as Kaien dug his fingers into the whipped cream and slathered it all over Masaki's face. Just then, Rukia walked into the kitchen, saw Kaien and Masaki, handed Atsushi to her brother, and went over to clean up Masaki without answering Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed.

Atsushi started crying.

Ichigo groaned.

Masaki started crying as Kaien put more whipped cream in her hair.

Ichigo would have rammed his head on the wall if it weren't for Aya in his arms.

Renji smirked.

"Regretting having this many guests over for a kids birthday party?" he asked. Ichigo glared at him.

"Wasn't my choice. I just had a feeling that if I didn't do what Rukia wanted, she might tie me up and stick me in the closet. I guess she didn't want to bare a houseful of kids alone, so she invited you, Byakuya, Inoue and Ishida to help. But, come to think of it, if she tied me up and stuck me in a closet, she would be alone caring for the kids, soo . . . "

Ichigo scratched his head and handed Aya, who had quieted down, to Renji before walking over to Byakuya and taking the baby out of his arms. Atsushi stopped screaming immediately and laid his small head against Ichigo's chest.

"That's a good boy. You're hungry, aren't you?" Ichigo smiled at the baby, who was reaching out for Rukia. "Come on, then. Let's go pester mommy, OK?"

Ichigo made a funny face as he walked off with the cooing baby in his arms. He quickly found Rukia cleaning Masaki again with Kaien pouting in a corner.

"Hey, Rukia, Atsushi's hungry. Let me finished cleaning Masaki, OK?"

Rukia nodded, sighing deeply as she took Atsushi off into the nursery.

After cleaning Masaki up, Ichigo herded the kids into the living room. Kaien jumped up and down, clapping his hands happily, as he ran over to his group of friends. Ryo, Keiko and Lia were among them. Masaki jumped off to join Kaien and his friends, and Ichigo turned to walk over to the group of adults.

"I will _die_ before this party is over!" he announced, raising an eyebrow at Renji when he saw the red-headed man making faces at the one-month-old baby. "And Renji . . . just so you know, that's _not_ very attractive."

Renji glared at him. He said, "Well, it's making her be quiet."

"Other things do that, too, you know. The sound of a fan, Kaien waving his hand over her face, Rukia singing, any music, her stuffed frog, gently bouncing her up and down in your arms and rubbing her back, for starters. She's quiet in the bath if you turn the head fan on and she likes to watch out the window as the car moves," Ichigo said, ticking the different things off on his fingers. Renji blinked a few times. He said,

"Uh . . . where is her stuffed frog?"

Ichigo smirked.

"In the nursery. I'll go get it; Rukia's nursing Atsushi."

Ichigo stood up from the couch and disappeared from the room. Ishida, who was watching from the other end of the room, walked over and raised an eyebrow.

"Wow. That man really knows his kids. I'm at work most of the time, so only Orihime knows what will calm Tye. I kinda envy him," Ishida said.

"Well, he took off work for two months; he only has a month left, then poor Rukia is stuck with them all day," Renji said, shaking his head. "Kids are sweet, but two of them, all day with no help . . . I'd lose my mind."

Byakuya, who had been silent for the most part, said,

"I think she can handle it. After all, she deals with Kurosaki day and night."

As Renji glanced at his captain, he was sure he saw the closest thing to a smirk that he would _ever_ see on the emotionless face of Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Well, as for me, I don't ever plan on having kids. And surely not four!" Renji said, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's like . . . they're _asking _to die young."

"_Young_? Huh . . . what are you, stupid?"

Renji glanced up as Ichigo walked back into the room, holding in his hands a bright pink, frilly stuffed frog. He handed it to the crying baby and took her from Renji. Aya quieted down and snuggled close to Ichigo, sticking her thumb in her mouth. He smiled down at the baby before walking over to Kaien to stop him from sticking one of the party hats in his mouth.

Renji shook his head.

Rukia and Ichigo were insane.

* * *

"Daddy! I wanna blow out my candles!" Kaien said, laughing as Ichigo held his hands over the little boy's eyes. Ichigo stuck his tongue out and made a show of sighing loudly before slinking off. Kaien jumped out of his chair and hauled Ichigo back. "No, daddy! Stay with me!"

"Ok, Kai," Ichigo said, patting the little boy's orange head. Kaien smiled brightly, showing off his three missing teeth, and leaned over the cake, holding Ichigo's hand in his right hand and Rukia's in his left. He blew as hard as he could, and no one commented as Ichigo began helping him when none of the candles were going out.

Kaien was beaming as he saw all seven of the wax candles smoking.

"Yay! I did it!"

Ichigo hugged him before pulling the candles out and beginning to cut the cake.

"Daddy, wanna know what I wished for?" Kaien asked, standing up in his chair and bouncing up and down. Ichigo smiled softly.

"But you can't tell me, or else it won't come true."

Kaien looked like he was about to burst with the excitement of telling someone, and when Ichigo said such, he dropped back down in his chair, saying, "Oh."

Ichigo, who could see that he was on the verge of tears, leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Kaien brightened immediately and ran over to Byakuya, pulling his hand to haul him down to his level. Rukia turned to Ichigo.

"What did you tell him?"

Ichigo, smirking, said, "Ah . . . just that Byakuya doesn't count, so Kaien could tell him what he wished for."

Rukia jabbed Ichigo in the stomach and, still smiling, he slithered to the side just as Kaien came running back over. Ichigo looked up at Byakuya and mouthed, 'Thank you'. The older man just nodded, a smile on his face, which surprised everyone in the room.

"Daddy, can I tell ya later?" Kaien asked, taking the piece of cake that Ichigo offered. He nodded before sitting all seven of the kids around the table. Kaien sat by Masaki and Ryo, while on the other side of the table, their other friends, Nathe, Keiko, Lia and Sasuke, were talking happily.

After the kids were set down, the six adults walked into the living room where Ichigo proceeded to fall onto the couch with a loud sigh. Just as he was about to bury his head in the pillow, a small, loud cry sounded from the nursery. He sighed and stood to his feet, dropping the pillow onto Rukia, who was sitting next to him.

"I'll get it."

And he walked off, Rukia nodded and smiled, leaning her head on the couch and breathing in deeply.

"Thanks," she muttered, snuggling up into the couch and hugging the pillow.

Ichigo walked into the nursery and smiled when he saw Aya screaming, her little blue eyes squeezed tightly shut as she cried loudly. He moved over to her crib and reached in, lifting the baby into his arms. She calmed down a little, but not much.

After checking, Ichigo discovered that she had a clean diaper. He changed it anyway and walked out into the living room, holding Aya in his arms.

Dropping down onto the couch, he leaned over and muttered something quietly into Rukia's ear. She sighed and, smiling gently, took the crying Aya from Ichigo and lifted her shirt. All other males in the room blushed bright red and Rukia rolled her eyes. Ichigo smirked and leaned over the back of the couch, grabbing a baby blanket and handing it to Rukia to cover herself as she fed Aya.

"Men are so sensitive," she said, wincing as Aya fed. Inoue, who was on the other side of the room holding Tye, nodded happily. Ishida rolled his eyes and sent Ichigo a look saying something along the line of: women-are-nuts.

"Daddy!"

Ichigo groaned as he stood to his feet and stretched before following the voice of his son into the kitchen. He found Kaien, who had cake _all over_ his face, standing up in his chair and bouncing up and down.

"Can I have more cake?" he asked, his eyes glowing happily. Ichigo nodded and took the plate before putting cake onto it. After Kaien was happy again, he made sure all the kids had enough and walked back into the living room, only to stand up and run back two seconds after he got sat down. Something had broken.

He could have heard that crash from anywhere in the house.

When he arrived in the kitchen, Kaien was standing up in his chair, looking down at the floor. He had broken the table vase. Sighing, Ichigo set to cleaning it up, and when Rukia, Byakuya, Renji, Inoue and Ishida all ran in, he explained that Kaien had simply dropped the vase.

"I help daddy!" Masaki said, jumping off of her chair. Ichigo tried to stop her, but she was quickly picking up the glass pieces and holding them in her hands. Then, from across the room, Ishida caught Ichigo's eye and mouthed 'Hollow'.

In the next second, Ishida ran out the front door with Renji on his heals; Byakuya wanted to purify the Hollow instead of killing it completely.

The only people left in the room were Ichigo, Masaki and Byakuya, as Inoue and Rukia had started leading all the kids into the living room to watch a movie; the only sure way to quiet them down.

"Ouch!"

Ichigo turned around to see Masaki sitting on the floor, holding her right hand in her left. She was crying, and as Ichigo bolted over, she held out her hand.

She had cut her finger.

Ichigo smiled gently as he took her small hand in his and reached for the cup towel. He pressed it firmly to her finger and then turned to Byakuya.

"Could you get the band-aids? Their in the bathroom beside Rukia's vitamins on the shelf."

Byakuya nodded and walked out of the room, heading to the bathroom. The small house that the Kurosaki's were living in only had one, so Ichigo hadn't needed to specify. His eyes ran over the shelves, and instead of grabbing the band-aids and running off, he let his eyes linger on the different items littering the cupboard.

You could tell that children lived there. The toothbrushes had cats and dogs on them, and there was children's shampoo covering the edge of the bathtub. Along with the children's shampoo, there was one scented Strawberry, then a men's shampoo, and baby shampoo. There were at least three scrubbies hanging on the shower head, and there was a mat on the bottom of the shower that prevented you from slipping. It had pictures of fish on it.

Besides the shampoos and tub, the towels, which were neatly stacked on the shelves beside the sink, had pictures of flowers and animals and the washrags were worn with use. Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the picture hanging on the wall. It had been taken special, he could tell. Though . . . why it was in the bathroom, he didn't know.

In the picture, Ichigo and Rukia were standing side-by-side. In Rukia's arms she held Aya and Ichigo held Atsushi. Kaien was sitting on Ichigo's shoulders, holding tightly to his hair and giggling. Masaki was clutching Ichigo's leg, and the look on his face suggested that he was about to loose his balance. And Rukia looked like she didn't notice.

Shaking his head, he grabbed the band-aids, which had bunnies on them, _must _have been Rukia and Masaki's conspiring, and walked back into the kitchen. As he passed the living room, he saw that all the children were watching _Finding Nemo_ and were all being quiet. Rukia looked like she was about to pass out on the couch, and Inoue was just as excited at the children about the movie.

When he walked back into the kitchen, he stopped in the doorway and watched Ichigo with Masaki. She had climbed up in his lap and had her head laid on his chest. He was gently running his hands through her soft black hair, and, as Byakuya watched, he kissed her finger and then her head.

And, for the first time in forever, BYakuya _nearly_ smiled.

"Here are the 'band-aids' you asked for, Kurosaki," Byakuya said, handing the box to Ichigo. He nodded, thanked him, and took out one of the band-aids.

Opening it, he removed the cup-towel from Maskai's finger and placed it tightly around her finger, saying, "There. All better."

"Thanks, daddy!" she said, standing happily to her feet. Byakuya watched her bounce out of the room as Ichigo told her that she was missing the best fishy part in the movie.

"By the way, Byakuya, what was Kaien's wish?"

Byakuya looked up at him and said, "He wished that his little sister loved him more."

Ichigo smiled softly. Byakuya said,

"You know . . . you might just be good enough for her."

Ichigo looked up in surprise, then, after thinking for a second, said,

"What? Took you seven years and four kids to find that out? Geez. You're dumber than I thought."

* * *

In case you didn't get the last part, Byakuya is talking about Rukia. And I think the next installment will be called **A Child's Wish**. Just a thought. It will be about Kaien and Masaki mostly.

**Please Review!**


	24. Dec 9 — For Her

OK, I wrote this out on . .. November 20th and _was_ going to put it up then, but since then, I have been writing a new story everyday that I like better, so I end up putting that up. But I _swore _I would smack my head against a wall if I didn't post this . . . so here goes! Have fun!

A **small** bit of this might be **AU** because Ichigo _did_ go the fireworks festival once in the Anime/Manga, so . . . yeah. Who cares? Not me. :D

Flames will be accepted, but ignored. I hope you like this!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

**For Her**

Rukia held the small object up to her face, confused as to what it was and excited to learn. Just as she was about to chew it between her teeth to see what it tasted like, Ichigo plucked it out of her hands and said, scowling,

"You _do not_ eat it, dope."

She stuck her tongue out at him but watched intently as he placed the small object on the cement ground, rolling his eyes when he saw her stick her nose up to it.

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"It's called a . . . I don't know the name, actually . . . but it blows up."

"I bet it's not as impressive as -"

Ichigo cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever; and it only makes a small explosion. If you want something big, you would have to go the fireworks tonight," he said, pushing her away from the firework, which he lit with a lighter then pushed her back further. She watched with wide eyes as the fuse began getting smaller and smaller.

Then, it exploded. Rukia's eyes widened even further as she watched from behind the metal panel Ichigo had set up. She asked,

"Why do people get such fun from making something explode on purpose?"

Ichigo laughed.

"Oh, please. Don't tell me you, Renji and those other kids you grew up with didn't blow things up for fun."

"No, but we did do it like . . . as a distraction when we needed something."

"Whatever. Let's go inside."

"What's a sparkler?"

Ichigo stopped in his tracks and turned around; he was standing on the stairs leading up to his house, and wanted very badly to go inside, not to stand out there and educate Rukia in fireworks. But he could see she wasn't going to give up, so he dug around in the bag of small fireworks his dad had bought until he found one of the sparklers. He walked over to Rukia and pressed it into her hand, standing behind her to light it with the lighter.

But her attention was more on Ichigo, who was pressing into her back, than she was the sparkler. A small blush had spread over her cheeks, and when Ichigo yelled at her to pay attention or she would burn herself, she snapped out of it and watched as the sparkler lit up; its red and orange colors were spitting out in beautiful fountains in the air.

"Move it around," Ichigo said, covering her small hand with his as he showed her how to move it around in circles. She watched in awe as the colors now seemed to make beautiful shapes in the warm air. Ichigo said, "See? It makes it prettier."

"Uh huh," Rukia said simply, frowning as the light stopped. "Did it break?"

"No, stupid. It went out. They don't last long."

"Oh."

She was silent for a minute and they both sat down on the ground as Ichigo went through the bag, trying to find another sparkler for her.

"Can we go to the fireworks tonight?"

It was Ichigo's turn to be silent. He looked down at the ground, stuffing his hands into his pocket. He finally said, quietly,

"I haven't gone since my mom died."

"Why not?" Rukia asked gently, putting the dead sparkler down on the ground.

"Because . . . we all used to go together. Me, my mom, my dad and Yuzu and Karin. We tried to go one year after she died . . . but it just seemed . . . I dunno, wrong? But we didn't try again after that. I don't know if I could go."

"Could you try?" Rukia asked, picking up a flower from the grass and tearing the small, pink petals off in the awkwardness of the situation. "For me?"

Ichigo smiled sadly, finally finding the sparkler he was looking for. He stood up and Rukia followed.

"I could try."

She smiled, too, as he handed her the sparkler, his hand not leaving hers as he lit it and she began waving it around. The small pink flower laid forgotten on the grass, letting the wind pick it up and blow it across the lawn.

_Traditions were hard to forget, _Ichigo thought, his smile fading a little as he watched Rukia play with the sparkler, pure happiness on her face as the colors dripped off the small stick and died before hitting the ground.

But he could try and make new ones.

_For her._

* * *

Well, whatcha think? This came to me when . . . ah . . . I don't know?

**Please Review!**


	25. Dec 10 — Fall Again

Ya know, I wonder if Rukia can ride a bike . . .

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach or the characters.

**

* * *

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**Fall Again**

Rukia walked back and forth in front of the strange contraption, reaching out every now and then to kick it. Ichigo, who was watching her from the porch, rolled his eyes and sighed, standing from his position and walking over. She looked up at him.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes wide as she flipped one of the pedals with her hand and watched it spin around and around in circles. Ichigo rolled his eyes again.

"It's a _bike_."

"Ooooh."

Rukia looked at the bike for a second more before asking,

"What's a bike?"

If there had been any solid objects near, Ichigo would have hit his head against one of them.

"It's a . . . well, you ride around on it. Some people use it for transportation," Ichigo explained, picking up his red bike and sitting on it. "Like this."

And he proceeded to ride around his yard on the bike. Rukia watched in wonder, and the second he jumped off, she grabbed it from him and jumped on it herself, only to fall over immediately. Ichigo had an amused look on his face as he watched her pull herself off of the ground.

"Not funny!" Rukia yelled, scowling as she tried to get on again. When she fell off for the second time, Ichigo laughed outright and she hit him in the head.

Rubbing his sore head, he watched, his eyebrows raising, as Rukia tried the bike again. Only to fail. Smiling, and _still_ rubbing his head, he walked over and took a hold of the bike handles.

"Here, get on, though it might be to big for you, you bring a midget and all."

Ichigo was once again rubbing his sore head as Rukia jumped onto the bike after smacking him. He grumbled under his breth as he straightened it out.

"OK. Put your feet on the pedals, then hold onto the handle bars."

Rukia nodded and placed her hands on top of his on the handles. He blushed a little, but didn't let it show as he showed her how to move along. Soon, she was inching across the ground, Ichigo still holding the handles tightly. When he felt that she could began to move faster, he took his right hand away and only held onto the left as she rode along.

Soon, she lost her balance, and Ichigo, having let the handle go, couldn't keep her upright. They both fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Get off of me, you big idiot," Rukia said, trying to pull herself out from under Ichigo. He quickly untangled himself from her and, looking anywhere but at her, helped her back up.

"Try and keep your balance this time, OK?"

Rukia nodded.

But after about ten more failed attempts, Ichigo sighed and got up onto the bike behind her. She jumped when she felt him sliding onto the seat.

"Ichigo?"

"Shut up. This is the only way I can teach you right."

"Where do I sit?"

"Don't care. On my lap, I guess."

Rukia shrugged and hoisted herself up to sit in his lap. After putting her hands over his on the handle bars, she smiled and leaned back into him as he began peddling along. As they moved fast across the lawn, Ichigo took his hands from the handles and let Rukia take control. She was freaked out as Ichigo wrapped his arms around her thin waist instead, but began to steer the bike across the soft grass. She breathed a sigh of relief as they didn't fall to the ground.

"Good. Think you can do it by yourself, now?" Ichigo asked, his hot breath hitting onto her neck. She quickly shook her head.

"No! Please stay with me," she said, turning around to look at him. Ichigo's eyes went wide, and he tried to scream, but before he could force a word out, they had crashed head on into the tree that Rukia _hadn't_ been paying attention to.

"Baka. . ." Ichigo muttered, pulling himself to his feet. He reached a hand out to Rukia, and she grabbed it. He pulled her to her feet and then picked up the bike.

"Wanna go again?"

Rukia nodded, jumping on after Ichigo as he placed his hands firmly over hers.

"This time, I'll catch you if we fall," he murmured into her ear.

She smiled.

* * *

Well, that was cheesy, sweet and sugary at the same time, no? Yes? Maybe? Hmm? I need to go write something sad and drama filled. NOW.

**Please Review!**


	26. Dec 11 — The Missing Bunny

This is a continuation to one of my other stories in **another collection** so I will not list it as Pt. II. Here is the link to the the previous story. Read it first! **Remove spaces in the link!!**

LINK: www . fanfiction . net / s / 3184213 / 8 /

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

**

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The Missing Bunny

Ichigo groaned as Rukia walked into his room and jumped on his bed, landing only inches from him. His eyes went wide, and once he was past his innital surprise, he began to glare at the short, feisty Shinigami-girl staring him right in the eye. It freaked him out how she managed not to blink even once.

"What do you want?" he asked, turning away from her and going back to his book.

"Strawberry is missing."

Ichigo growled as he turned to look at Rukia.

"I thought I said that you had to take care of that God-forsaken bunny or else I would stuff you in the hamper."

"I _did_ take care of him. But I . . . _misplaced_ him."

"How do you misplace a freakin' bunny?" Ichigo exclaimed, putting down his book in frustration.

"I don't know," Rukia said, frustrated. "Now, help me find him."

"No," Ichigo said flatly, kicking her off of his bed with one swift jab and picking his book up again. Rukia was grinding her teeth together so hard as she stood back up that you could actually hear them. Ichigo tried his best to ignore her, but when she sat on his bed, and on _him_, he lost it. He flipped around so Rukia was now sitting on his stomach, and glard at her for all he was worth.

"Off."

"Not until you help me find Strawberry."

"No. Off, or I'll kick you . . . again!"

"No!"

It was Ichigo's turn to growl as he tried to kick her off, but, sad to say, his feet couldn't reach up to his stomach.

Rukia just continued to glare at him, her small arms crossed over her chest as she ground her teeth together. Finally, Ichigo gave up.

"_Fine_. I'll help you find the stupid bunny. Just, get. Off. Me. _NOW_!"

Rukia smiled and jumped off, her light, off-white skirt catching in the wind through the open window as she did. Ichigo rolled his eyes and stood to his feet, too, following Rukia's lead as she walked out of the room to start the search.

They searched the living room, the twins bedroom, his father's room, the bathrooms, and then went into the kitchen.

And when Ichigo looked over to find Rukia, she had her head inside of the cupboard and was reaching for something inside, her small hands outstretched toward the object.

"Strawberry!" she said firmly, "Come out now."

Ichigo rolled his eyes again.

"Baka. It won't come because you _tell_ it to. Grab it and get out of there."

Rukia stuck her head out from the cupboard and glared at him.

"Well, if it's _that _easy, get your butt in here and grab him!" she yelled, putting her head back inside. Ichigo dropped down beside her and moved her to the side as he squeezed inside the small space beside her.

The bunny was sitting on the kitchen pipe, shaking his whiskers at them as they tried to reach for him. Ichigo glared at the bunny. He was mocking them. And, if bunnies could smirk, Strawberry would be doing exactly that.

"Um . . . Ichigo? I think I'm stuck," Rukia observed.

Ichigo groaned.

So, an hour later, when Isshin, Yuzu and Karin got back from shopping, Ichigo got a full dose of blubbering from his dad about hiding with girls in dark places.

And, once he was unstuck from the deep, dark hole with Rukia, and said pain-in-the-butt Shinigami was happily cuddling her Strawberry, Ichigo kicked his father half across the room.

And Rukia and Strawberry didn't even notice.

* * *

I had a lot of fun writing that. :D I hope you like it! _(Crosses fingers)_

And I started a one-shot collection! It's called **Perfect Rainfall** and here is the link. Please, _please_ check it out! **Take out spaces in link!!**

LINK: www . fanfiction . net / s / 3282956 / 1 /

**Please Review!**


	27. Dec 12 — Truth or Dare

Yayness! New story! Well, that was a given . . . seeing as how you're _reading_ it. :P

Please enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

**Truth or Dare**

Rukia sighed as she flipped over on the floor, putting her book down as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared over at Ichigo, who was trying to do his homework. He finally noticed her staring at him and turned around, putting his pencil down.

"What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Nothing."

"C'mon, Rukia, every time you stare at me like that, I ask you 'what', you say nothing, then when I get back to whatever I _was_ doing, you ask me some stupid question about balloons or candy. What. Is. It?"

Rukia rolled her eyes.

"_Fine_. What is Truth and dare?"

"Truth _or_ dare. And it's a stupid game that stupid people play. One person asks another truth or dare, and they pick one. If they pick truth, the asker gets to ask any question he/she wants and the other person has to answer."

"And dare?" Rukia asked happily. Ichigo growled impatiently.

"I was _getting_ to that. If the person picks dare, they have to do something, anything the asker wants, as a dare. From eating soap to shooting out windows to kissing. Anything. Now, will you leave me alone?"

Rukia didn't respond; she was deep in thought.

"Good."

Ichigo turned back to his homework, expecting Rukia to ask another question, but when he looked back at her, she just shrugged and went back to her book.

"Rukia, you need to do your homework," he said, picking up his pencil and beginning to write his answers down. Rukia shrugged again.

"Done."

Life wasn't fair.

* * *

The next day at school, Ichigo was sitting out on the rooftop, looking up at the sky and watching the birds fly overhead. Rukia was eating with the girls today, so she hadn't bothered him about opening her juice. He kind of missed it actually.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, Ichigo finished up his lunch then threw away his trash, preparing to go back into school. But, as he neared the door, he caught sight of Rukia lurking around the corner, then of the giggling group of girls behind her.

This could be, no, this _was_ bad.

"Oi, Rukia, what are you doing?" he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he began walking toward her. He raised his eyebrow when she blushed and bit her lip.

Then, she ran up to him, grabbed his face in her hands, and kissed him.

Freakin' _kissed _him!

Ichigo's eyes went wide and his hands flew out of his pockets as Rukia's soft lips were on his own. He lost all train of thought until she pulled back, blushing madly.

"W-w-what . . ."

Ichigo stuttered, his eyes still wide. Then, shaking his head, he yelled,

"What the hell was that for?"

"Truth and dare, dumbass!" Rukia said back, her glare only betrayed by her dark, deep blush. Ichigo was surprised; Rukia never blushed. "And don't be like that, it was just a dare. Besides . . ." she looked down at the ground as she said the next part. "It was my first kiss."

Ichigo's wide eyes went wider.

"I . . . ah . . . um . . . "

OK, so what words could be used to say "Mine, too"? Well, _besides_ those words. Most all boys ten and over had already been kissed, but Ichigo had never. Even his little sister had been kissed. Sighing and running a hand through his hair, he decided to go with the two easiest words.

"Mine, too."

The giggling group of girls had left, Ichigo noted, leaving him and Rukia alone in the hall.

"Ah . . . whose idea was it to play that game in the first place."

"Mine."

Ichigo broke out laughing. "Then you have to expect dares like that, baka!"

He continued to laugh and Rukia, the blush suddenly gone from her face, stomped as hard as she could manage on his toes. Limping back to class, Ichigo was still laughing, and Rukia was doing her best to ignore him until he said,

"How can someone so _old_ never have been kissed before?"

She made a point not to answer.

"Don't blame 'em. Ya kiss 'em, then she stomps on your foot. Bah. What a response. Most boy would just want you to kiss them again."

So, Rukia did just that.

* * *

Sorry if they're a little OOC. :D Just hope you liked it.

**Please Review!**


	28. Dec 13 — Alphabet Soup

This came to me while cooking Alphabet Soup today. It's just a cute, little fluffy_ thing _that I wrote down. Man, don't I have an impressive vocabulary? Huh.

Anyway, I really hope you like this!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

**Alphabet Soup**

Rukia smiled as she walked into the kitchen and saw the short message scrawled onto the piece of paper beside the vase on the table. It was in his wirting; she could tell. The messy, slightly slanted letters could be identified anywhere, anytime. Picking up the small, white piece of paper, she turned it around in her hands until her eyes settled on the writing.

_Hey, Rukia. Sorry I couldn't stay. Your brother would have killed me or something. Just hope ya find this before he does. Love ya._

Below, it was signed _Ichigo_. Rukia smiled and stuffed the small piece of paper in her pocket. He always did this. He would visit during the night and in the morning he would be gone. Sometimes he would vists several nights in a row, and sometimes he would come only once or twice a month. But she always loved seeing him, no matter how often. And whenever he would visit, she always got asked why she was so happy the next day.

She would always answer the same.

"No reason."

But everyone knew there _was_ a reason . . . they just didn't _know _the reason.

Sighing, Rukia walked out of the kitchen and into the hall, pulling on her shoes and mittens before walking outside. The cold bit at her skin, but she smiled nonetheless. The note was tucked away in her pocket, and she would put it with the others tonight.

The next time he visited was a week later. He snuck in her window, and she was still awake; somehow, she knew he was coming and she had waited up for him. That night, after slowly making love, they talked about anything and everything but when he would have to leave in the morning. When she had fallen asleep, she was curled up in his arms, her head resting on his bare chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her small body.

And the note, this time, was spelled out on her hand in permenant marker. She couldn't wash it off, so she had to hide the words: _See ya soon. Love ya_, and signed by _Ichigo_, all day. Renji and her captain nearly saw them twice or three times, and she vowed she would kill Ichigo when she saw him again.

Which, of course, she didn't.

The next time he came was weeks and weeks later; by then she had forgotten all about killing him, and met him with a kiss as he climbed through the window. That time they talked way into the night and partly into the morning.

"Why do you keep leaving?" she asked, curling into his side but not meeting his eyes. "We can't keep doing this forever."

"Why not?" he asked, kissing her neck and smirking.

"Because . . . what if . . . what if we ever want to move on?"

He stopped.

"Do you?"

She could sense the hesitation and slight fear in his voice. She turned around in his arms and climbed on top of him, resting her head right beside his on his shoulder.

"No. But what about you? Don't you ever get lonely?"

"Nah. I love ya. Don't want to move on."

And she smiled. It was the first time he had actually spoken the words 'Love ya' aloud to her. He wrote it in each note, and he showed her how much he loved her every time he made her body feel on fire when he made love to her, but he had never spoken the words aloud.

"Good. I don't want to either. But . . . Ichigo . . . what if something happens?"

"Like what?"

Rukia blushed slightly as she spoke.

"What if I ever get pregnant or something? We never use protecion."

"Are you worried about it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well . . . not worried about having a baby so much as what we'll do if it happens. No one knows that you visit me, so how will I explain it if you don't come soon enough for me to tell _you_?"

He shurgged. "I visit often enough. But if you're worried about that happening, then just send me a message if it does. We'll worry about it then. For now, let's enjoy the time we have together, OK?"

She nodded, letting a smile come to her lips as he wrapped her tightly into his arms.

And, as if her words had somehow jinxed them, a month and a half later, Rukia woke up to find herself sick to her stomach and spent the whole morning in her bathroom, feeling like crap and throwing up last night's dinner. Not sure of anything, she went to Unohana and asked for a test.

"Someone I know? Renji, perhaps?"

"No," Rukia said, rolling her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Not Renji. But you know him. So, what were the results?"

"Positive. Seven or eight weeks, I would say. Congratulations."

"Thanks. Um . . . could you not tell anyone?"

Unohana nodded and Rukia jumped to her feet, walking out of the room.

She needed to send a message.

* * *

Ichigo yawned as he climbed out of his bed the next morning. He wanted to see Rukia; it had been nearly eight weeks since he had last seen her, probably the longest time between his visits. Sighing, he pulled himself from his pajamas and changed into his clothes fo the day and walked downstairs.

She had been there.

He could tell; her scent still lingered in the air, and as he set to making breakfast, Ichigo couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he waited for any sign that she would show herself.

But then he found it.

It was a bowl of soup from the night before.

Alphabet soup.

And the letters were carefully arranged into three words. Three simple words that made Ichigo, once he understood what they meant, feel the weight of a thousand pounds pressing on his shoulders and wanting to smile like an idiot at the same time.

_Time to worry._

But, as he climbed out of his window, forgetting everythig but seeing her, he wondered why she used Alphabet Soup.

* * *

Well, once again . . . CHEESY! Gah. I'm cursed, I tell ya. :P I just can't keep from writing this stuff. Sighs

And the _Time to worry_ part was from where Ichigo told her not to worry about anything until, and if, it happened. ;D

**Please Review!**


	29. Dec 14 — Daddy Pt XI — A Child's Wish

Well, this is the continuation to the last part. How long is this going to go on? _(Pathetic moan)_

Anyway, mostly about Kaien and Masaki! Have fun!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

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A Child's Wish

Ichigo finished folding the last small, pink jumper of Masaki's and then grabbed the pile of Kaien's clothes before walking into the child's room and placing the pile on his dresser. He would put them up in the morning when Kaien was awake.

Ichigo made sure that Kaien was tucked tightly under his blankets before turning to leave the room. But before he could reach the door, the small, tired voice of Kaien stopped him.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Kaien?" Ichigo asked, turning around and walking back over. Kaien hugged the top of his blankets tightly to him and said quietly,

"Wanna know what I wished for?"

Ichigo nodded and sat down on the bed beside Kaien.

"Sure, squirt," he said, ruffling Kaien's hair.

"I wished that Masaki would love me more. Know why?" he asked, biting on his lip as he moved his small body so his head was resting on Ichigo's lap and his body was curled up beside his daddy.

"No why?" Ichigo said, running his hands through Kaien's bright orange spikes to try and calm them down.

"'Cause while we're at school, she doesn't talk to me much anymore. I want mommy to teach us at home again."

"She can't, baby. Atsushi and Aya are keeping her busy enough, and when I go back to work, she will need all her energy to keep them happy until I come home. Why doesn't Masaki talk to you anymore?"

Kaien shrugged.

"When mommy taught us at home, I was Masaki's friend, but now she has new friends and doesn't talk to me more."

"Ah. I see. Well, Kaien . . . Masaki needs girl friends. Soon, she's going to be interested in boys, and she needs girl friends to talk to about that. Like . . . say she likes one of your friends, if she told you, you would tell them, right?"

Kaien nodded.

"See? A girl doesn't want a boy to know when they like them unless she knows that the boy likes them, too. So if Masaki liked . . . say, Ryo, and she told you and you told him, how would she feel? Nah. She needs girl friends to talk to about that stuff. But she still loves you, OK?"

Kaien seemed to think for a second, then, slowly, nodded.

"OK, daddy. But I still want her to love me more."

Ichigo smiled and gave Kaien a hug and kiss before tucking the blankets around his small, seven-year-old body before walking out of the room.

"Night, daddy," Kaien said sleepily, smiling.

"Night, Kai."

* * *

"Ichigo, what's wrong?"

Ichigo sighed as he grabbed a T-shirt, pulling it over his head and down to cover the multiple scars on his chest. He turned around to look at Rukia, and, once he was in only his boxers and Tee, he climbed into bed beside her.

"Kaien."

"What about him?" Rukia asked, worriedly sitting up in bed, the quilt falling off her small body.

"Don't worry, nothing like that," Ichigo said, leaning back against his pillow. He began to play with Rukia's hair, as he always did, when she laid her head on his lap. "He's just . . . I don't know. He wants Masaki to spend more time with him at school. I guess she has a new group of friends and doesn't talk to him much."

"Why is it bothering him so much?" Rukia asked, absently running her fingers over a large scar on Ichigo's knee.

"I don't know. He really does love his sister, you know. He likes to play protector."

"Well, so do you," Rukia pointed out, poking him in the chest. He smirked and grabbed her hand, playfully chewing on her fingers before kissing them.

"Yeah. I think he'll be fine, though."

Rukia murmured something in response that Ichigo didn't hear. They continued to just lay there for a few minutes, until Rukia spoke again.

"I'm going to miss it."

"Miss what?"

"The kids being small. I'm going to miss the dirty handprints everywhere, the drawings pasted on the fridge, the carpet stains, the hand-maid Christmas cards, everything. They're growing up too fast," she said, sighing as she frowned sadly. "Even Atsushi and Aya are growing fast. Their only a month, but this month has passed so quickly, how fast will their lives go?"

Ichigo smiled sadly.

"It is too fast. I remember the day I was helping Kaien take his first steps. And I remember when he first started eating real food. Man, that was a mess. And I remember the day he was first potty trained. He was so happy to be a big boy. He was smiling so big about something so small, and . . . I even got a picture of it. He's naked, though, so I haven't shown it to anyone. But now . . . he just turned seven, and though I should be happy that he's growing up, I'm not. When I was putting the candles on his cake, I felt like life was weighing down on my shoulders, and I almost couldn't do it. Seven candles this year. _Seven_."

Rukia looked up to see the sad look on Ichigo's face.

"I almost cried today when Kaien brought me something he had made in class. It was a drawing of our family. He wrote at the top that he's the big brother and he had to protect Masaki and Aya and Atsushi because he was bigger than them. It was sweet, but . . . he reminds me so much of you, Ichigo. He really does. And he's growing up so fast."

Ichigo smiled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her softly.

"We'll manage."

* * *

The next morning, Ichigo woke early to herd the kids off to school. Kaien was grumpy because he was tired from the day before, but Masaki was jumping up and down happily.

Once they were both off to school, Ichigo set to the days work. He would clean up a little and dress the babies before waking Rukia.

He smiled as he watched out the window as Masaki tripped on the sidewalk and Kaien helped her up before they ran, hand-in-hand, into the bus.

Yeah, they grew fast.

Too fast.

Ichigo was still putting away the dishes from last night when Rukia walked into the kitchen. She smiled at him, then frowned when she heard Aya start crying. But before she could walk into the nursery, Ichigo stopped her.

"Hey, Rukia, why don't you go shopping or something today? I can manage the babies, and you need a break."

"But-"

"No buts. Come on, you could use it. Call Orihime or go visits your brother; he's at the Urahara shop today until he leaves back for the Soul Society. I'm sure I can hold the fort down here for a few hours. Go."

It took a lot of convincing, but Rukia finally decided to vists her brother. She nearly had to be shoved out of the house by Ichigo, but once she was gone, he missed her terribly; both babies were screaming and crying at once.

But once she got there, ten minutes after greeting her brother, she said worridely,

"I think Ichigo might have killed them by now."

And after that, what she said next nearly had her brother laughing, if that was possible.

"I need to cuddle someone or I'm going to loose my mind."

But it had him worried who she was thinking about: the babies or Ichigo.

* * *

Masaki thrust her juice box into her brother's face.

"Will you open this, Kaien?" she asked, her big eyes pleading with him. He sighed and stuck the straw in. Happy, she dropped down and began eating her lunch quietly until her friends came along. She ran off with them, leaving her juice behind.

Kaien sighed and sat down. She didn't talk to him much anymore. He opened her juice for her everyday, but that was about it.

Soon, he stood to his feet and began walking along, shuffling his shoes against the ground as he looked for Ryo. He had to be around somewhere. Or maybe not. He hadn't been in class all morning, so maybe he was sick of something. His mommy had said something like that when Kaien had called last.

Nodding his head and deciding that Ryo was sick, and therefore, Kaien didn't need to look for him, he began heading back to class. He kicked several rocks on his way, and even hit a small animal with one, making it run off squealing and making him wince.

Then, he heard her scream.

Masaki.

Pulling his hands from his pockets, he ran as fast as he could toward the place her voice had come from.

When he found her, she was in a small alleyway between the elementary school and the high school. There were two high-schoolers standing over her, and she had fallen to the ground, her pink jumper stained with blood from her lip and nose.

"What are you doin' to my sister?!" Kaien yelled loudly, his fists clenched. Then, he realized the boys were bigger than him.

Much bigger.

"Buzz off, little freak," the larger of the two said, advancing toward Kaien. Kaien took a step backward, his heart beating fast and hard in his chest.

"No. Leave Masaki alone!"

"Ah, so _that's_ her name. Too bad she's so cute. I'm gonna mess her up 'cause she stole somethin' from me."

"She didn't take anything! Masaki doesn't steal!" Kaien yelled, ducking under the man, who appeared to be drunk, to try and run to his sister. But before he could take five steps, the man whirled around and caught him in the stomach with his foot, causing Kaien to fly backward into the wall.

His back hurt from the contact with the hard bricks, and he had a large cut on his face where it had smashed into the wall.

"Give it back," the boy said, picking up Masaki by her jumped straps. Masaki had tears running down her face, and it was mixing with the blood.

"I don't have anything!" she yelled, trying to kick him with her small feet.

"Yes you do, little lady. Give it back! Give me my money!"

The second man had left, Kaien noticed. Probably didn't want to get in trouble or something.

Masaki was crying so hard she couldn't speak now, and Kaien jumped to his feet and ran over, kicking the man in between his legs. He dropped Masaki, who landed flat on Kaien, and the two stumbled to their feet and ran out of the alley before the man regained his balance.

Masaki was still crying when they found a teacher, and the gash on Kaien's head had bled so much that it was staining the whole top portion of his shirt. Once he had caught his breath and realized how much blood he had lost, he passed out. Masaki screamed and fell down beside him until the school nurse ran up and pulled her off, putting her to the side and yelling at a teacher to call Kaien's parents. She then took him to the nurses office for some much-needed stitches.

* * *

"They were yelling really loudly and they scared me. But Kaien saved me," Masaki said, tears slipping from her large eyes as she buried her head in Ichigo's shoulder. Rukia was standing beside Kaien, who was awake now, and was fussing over him.

Ichigo smiled as he passed Masaki to Rukia. She took the little girl and stood back as Ichigo sat down beside Kaien.

"Hey, buddy. What you did was really brave."

"I got beat up," he said, pouting.

"Yea, but you helped your sister. And she's really happy you did. And bud?"

"Huh?"

"She really does love you. She just needs some space. Give it to her, will ya?" Ichigo asked, smiling as he hugged Kaien. Slowly, Kaien slipped his arms around Ichigo and smiled, too.

"Yeah. OK, daddy. I've give her space."

"Good. Now, why don't you hold her hand while we walk to the car?"

Kaien nodded happily, jumping off the bed and taking Masaki's hand when she was placed on the ground beside him.

"Thankies, Kaien!" she said happily, hugging him tightly.

And his grin could have eaten L.A.

* * *

Well, no better ending to that. :D And since I'm not doing another story a day son after this, if I write more of these ... What 'o what will I do with them?

Bah. Should I even write more? And more importently, what did you think of this? _(Drops on knees and begs shamelessly for opinions)_

I think my favorite line to write in this story was:

**"I need to cuddle someone or I'm going to loose my mind."**

**But it had him worried who she was thinking about: the babies or Ichigo.**

I also had fun writing Masaki and her juice box. :P

**Please Review!**


	30. Dec 15 — Forever In His Arms

Well, this was a quick one-shot that I wrote. Duh. But I thought it was cute, so up it sent!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the Characters.

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**Forever In His Arms**

Sometimes . . . it feels like the world is crashing down on me. And sometimes it feels like I could lift the sky if I wanted to; but I have no reason. Sometimes it feels like I just need to let everything loose.

So, sometimes, I cry.

I never do it in public. I never cry around people; I cry in private. When people are around you when you are releasing your emotions, it makes you feel self-aware, so you never fully release everything and end up with worries and other emotions still bottled up inside of you.

I've only ever cried around one person. He was with me when I broke down one day, and he held me in his arms. And I felt safe and loved. I felt like everything I was worried about and everything that was pressing on me just flew out of the open window and into the night wind, never to come back.

He just held me and let me cry all the tears that I had inside of me. I was curled up in his lap, and he didn't complain as I gripped tightly to his shirt. He held me forever; he didn't say a word, and when I finally pulled back, he kissed my tears.

And I knew, that if I needed a shoulder to cry on again, he would hold me forever in his arms.

* * *

Well ... fluff, right? Meh. **FYI:** That was IchiRuki!!

**Please Review!**


	31. Dec 16 — Sneaking Arrangements

This one is WEIRD. Just be warned. :P

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

**Sneaking Arrangements**

Rukia silently opened Ichigo's door and poked her head into the room; good, he was sleeping. Pushing open the door the rest of the way, she quickly walked in and opened his closet door, jumping inside without a sound. Once she had shut the door, she listened intently for any signs that Ichigo had woken up; none. He was sleeping like the dead.

Sighing in relief, she settled her small body into the thick, warm quilt inside his closet. She had tried sleeping in his sisters' room, but she just couldn't. Karin snored and Yuzu moved around too much. She was used to just Ichigo in the same room with her. She had never shared a room before she came crashing into his life, and she got too used to it.

So, here she was in the middle of the night, sneaking into his room in order to sleep in his _closet_.

But the quilts in there were so warm and thick; her small body was engulfed by the large, cotton filled pieces of cloth, and she loved it.

She just needed to wake up before he did so she could make a clean escape.

Easier said than done.

* * *

"Very well. You may stay in the human world; it is your patrol area, after all. But I have one question."

Rukia looked up at her brother after jabbing Ichigo in the side, who was currently holding his Zanpaktou over his shoulder and tapping his foot on the ground, inpatiently.

"Yes?" she said softly.

"What are your sleeping arrangements?"

"She's _supposed _to be sleeping in with my sisters, but she keeps sneaking back into my closet," Ichigo said, frowning as he stared down at Rukia.

"But I-"

"Rukia, last night when you snuck in, Kon went berserk and I had to _tape_ him to the freakin' ceiling to keep him from jumping you in your sleep!" Ichigo said, putting his Zanpaktou back and crossing his arms over his chest. Rukia turned to glare at him.

"Well, it's not my fault that he's perverted!" she exploded. "And you _taped_ him to the ceiling? So _that_ was why he walked by this morning, muttering something about killing you next time he was in your body-"

Rukia cut herself off and her eyes widened at the same time Ichigo began cursing loudly.

As of this moment, Ichigo was in Shinigami form.

Rukia had lost her glove.

So . . . Kon was in Ichigo's body.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Ichigo roared, his fists clenching tightly as he turned to Rukia. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner? He's either getting my body ran over by cars at this moment or . . . or makin' out with some random freakin' girl!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know that a Hollow would attack and we would be forced to use him?" she yelled back, having to stand on her tip-toes to even look the slightest bit threatening.

"Well, you _could_ have started by not losing the freaking glove, dope!"

"Me? It wasn't my fault! You're the one who put it in the washer with your clothes and let Yuzu get a hold of it!"

"And it's not my fault that you dunked it in chocolate just because you wanted to see if it was sticky!"

She gave him a glare that would have killed a lesser man. Ichigo said,

"Bah! Whatever, we need to find him. You comin' Byakuya?"

Byakuya shrugged. He would never admit it, but he wanted to see what would happen when they actually did find Kon. He wanted to see if Ichigo would actually injure his own body.

* * *

Ichigo stomped around town, grinding his teeth together as Byakuya and Rukia simply followed behind. He hadn't had any luck finding Kon, and he was beginning to get fed up.

Byakuya, who was walking further behind with Rukia, asked,

"Why is he so angry?"

She shrugged.

"When we first got Kon, he started out by hurting Ichigo's body and kissing one of our classmates. Ichigo made a very big deal out of it."

Ichigo turned back and glared at her.

"Well, duh, dope. He kissed _Inoue_. I mean . . . geez, I like the girl as a friend, but not someone I would willingly give my first kiss to."

Rukia raised her eyebrows.

"First kiss?"

Ichigo growled, "Yeah. And if you _ever_ tell anyone about that, I'll tape_ you_ to the ceiling, too."

Rukia shut her mouth, and they both stayed silent until Ichigo found Kon. Then, Ichigo exploded.

"I'm _SO_ going to kill him!"

Rukia stood back and watched silently as Ichigo stomped up to Kon and pulled him roughly away from the girl he was currently trying to suck lunch up from inside her mouth and hauled him away from her. Kon just smirked, happy with that he had done.

"That was the third."

He _really _shouldn't have said that.

Ichigo grabbed his Zanpaktou and rammed the butt of it into Kon's head, making him fall to the ground out cold. He then whacked Kon so hard upside the head that the Soul Candy flew out.

"Ichigo! You _will not_ crush that Soul Candy, or so help me, I will ruin you!" Rukia yelled loudly, stomping over to where Ichigo was trying to crush Kon in between his fingers.

"I am not getting back inside my body!" he yelled, staring down at said body, which was laying on the ground, no signs of life in it whatsoever.

"And why not?" Rukia said, stealing Kon from him and stuffing the small, green candy in her pocket.

"Because I hurt him . . . me! And because . . . because of normal _male_ reactions from being with a girl!" he said a slight blush on his face as he flipped his body over with his foot.

Byakuya raised his eyebrows again.

"Kurosaki . . . if that . . . _Kon_, get's near my sister while he is inside your body, I will kill both him _and _you."

Ichigo gulped and muttered, "See, Rukia? _That_ was why I freakin' taped him to the ceiling last night! And speaking of last night . . . stay out of my closet!"

And the argument started again.

"But your sister snores."

"So do I."

"Yes, well, when I kick you, you stop. She doesn't," Rukia said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You kicked my sister?" Ichigo yelled, his eyes wide.

"No, baka. I can't kick her; that's the problem. I don't have any reservations about kicking you, but I will not kick Karin. But she snores like a freight train!"

"So do you," Ichigo pointed out. "And I have to live with you, so you can live with Karin."

Out of ideas, Rukia said,

"I don't want to. I _like_ your closet. And if you don't let me sleep in there, I'll stick Kon in your body and trap him inside a room with chappy!"

"But Chappy would be in _your_ body!" Ichigo said, frowning.

"It's a gigai. I can replace it at anytime. You, however, only have one real body."

She smirked and Ichigo growled, defeated. There was no way he would let Kon alone with anything, even it was demented, in Rukia's body. That would be . . . wrong on _so_ many levels.

Byakuya just rolled his eyes.

* * *

O ... K ...

That. Was. Weird. I have NO idea where it came from. I just wrote it. **o.O**

**Please Review!**


	32. Dec 17 — An Unknown Goodbye

Well, this is the last of the last! Have fun, and **PLEASE READ** my author notes at the bottom of the page. I WILL be telling more about the next possible installment of "A Story A Day!"

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or the characters.

* * *

**Unknown Goodbye**

It was the easiest way, I kept telling myself. Just leaving would be easiest. But it was harder than that. As I stood on the window, ready to jump out into the night, I couldn't stop myself from glancing over at him.

He was sleeping peacefully, not moving. His breath was steady, and his eyes didn't move under his eyelids. He was peaceful. And I wasn't a part of his life. I was just ... Rukia. I didn't belong here. I belonged back in the Soul Society with my friends and family. I belonged with people who loved me and people I loved.

Not here.

Not ever.

I sighed and turned my gaze, trying not to look back at him. I didn't want to; I wanted to leave.

Didn't I? I wanted to go, it was my choice and mine alone. I wanted to go home. But what was home anymore? What defined home? Was it the place you grew up in, or the place with the people you loved? I'd seen these little signs above doors saying, _Home is where the heart is_.

But where was my heart?

Was it here, with Ichigo, or back in Soul Society with Nii-sama and Renji and my friends? Was it with the substitute Shinigami that I had grown to admire and trust, or was it with my brother and childhood friend?

Where was home?

I shook my head. I turned around, ready to jump out of the window and into the cold night air when I felt a hand on my arm.

I turned to see Ichigo staring at me tiredly. He asked,

"Where are you going?"

My heart sped up and I gulped down a knot in my throat.

"Home," I said softly.

He got a blank look in his eyes, then he took his hand from mine.

"Please stay, Rukia. Don't go," he said. "If ... if you have to go, please, just stay with me tonight, OK?"

So I do. I lay in his arms until morning, when I untangle myself from his body. We'd never had such physical contact before, but it felt right. I had stayed up all night listening to his heart beat as I laid my head on his chest and listened to his gentle breathing.

Then, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, I left.

I had said goodbye in my own way. A silent goodbye ... an unknown goodbye.

* * *

**THE END**

Well ... I had fun! Yayness! This whole thing has come to an end ... again! I might do another on, so keep lookin' out for it! But you have _no idea_ how many plot bunnies and hours of typing these things take! So don't be surprised if it takes me a month ... or two ... or five ... to start the next one.

:P Nah. Probably one-two months, less if I'm lucky. But I AM starting a new multi-chapter story soon. :D

◦♥◦♥◦Since I am not putting up a Story A Day collection for some time, I just thought I would let you all know that Perfect Rainfall is very close to a story a day collection; it's been up for seven days and has seven stories. I will add a story every single day I can, so it will not be pressuring on me, but it will give ya something to read. :**—KittiKat**◦♥◦♥◦


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